Ex-Aids awakening
by Time-Space lord Eon
Summary: One day when a group of friends get together to enjoy the newest Kamen Rider, someone knocks on the door and sends them to a new world. Now equipped with new powers it's up to them and their friends to protect their new home from a great evil.
1. Premonition: Invisible Ties

**予感: 目に見えないTIES**

 _Premonition: Invisible ties_

In a dark temple, four people were battling. On one side was a man with blue hair, next to him were two men whose faces were concealed by masks. One had a mostly orange suit with cyan accents, his helmet designed to look like orange hair spiking to the right. However the left side of his helmet was smooth and cyan. The other masked man was his complete opposite. Both of them had a piece of armor on their shoulder resembling the part of their mask with the spiked hair.

Their opponent was a tall dark man in black and purple robes. The blue haired man charged at him with his sword, however all his attacks were dodged or blocked with magic. The orange fighter lifted up his weapon which resembled a sword with a keypad and pulled a trigger on the handle sending several shots their opponent.

The dark man disappeared, as the two masked warriors looked around for him. "Up there!" their ally called out. The two looked up just in time to see the man's next attack, a high power blast of dark magic which only the cyan fighter was able to completely avoid due to being farther back.

The dark man returned to the ground and aimed a blast of dark magic at his blue haired opponent.

 **Gashacon Magnum!**

The cyan fighter pulled out a handgun and fired several shots at the dark blast, deflecting it.

The three regrouped. The blue haired man spoke "This is it! Our final battle! You're one of us, James, and no "destiny" can change that. Now let's kill this dastard and be done with it!" Both his companions nodded in agreement as they started to advance.

"Ha ha ha! Why do you resist?" the dark man laughed at their approach. The Blue haired man ran in and managed to get in a hit. "Gya ha ha! Fools! Struggle all you want! You cannot unwrite what is already written!" The dark man boasted as the masked warriors raised their weapons.

The cyan warrior pulled out a small cartridge and placed into a slot on his gun as his partner did the same with his sword, inserting two instead.

 **BangBang, Bike Quest… Critical Finish!**

A second sword appeared in the orange warrior's other hand as the both pulled the triggers. A large blast of energy erupted from the gun as two swirling shots in the shape of a motorcycle and a flaming sword. The blasts hit their target dead on.

The blue haired man rushed to his allies as the dark sorcerer fell to the ground covered in dark fire. Just as the blue haired man started to congratulate his friends, the dark man pulled himself up. "This isn't over... Damn you BOTH!" He fired one more blast, the masked warriors jumped in front of their comrade, locking the face pieces together when the blast impacted, knocking them both to the floor.

The Blue haired man ran to their aid. "Are you alright? That's the end of him. Thanks to you we carried the day. We can rest easy now. At long last…" he said, but at that moment, both fighters clutched their heads in pain as their eyes briefly flashed red.

"What's wrong? Hey, hang on —" He was interrupted by the orange warrior stabbing him with his sword.

'Chrom!' the cyan warrior tried to shout out, but his voice would not come out.

"This is not your — your fault... Promise me you'll escape from this place... Please, go…" Chrom said before he collapsed lifeless. The cyan warrior closed his eyes and heard a gunshot.

 **Game Over**

James bolted awake in a cold sweat. It had been that same dream for the past month and he still didn't understand it. He at least figured it would have to with the thing he had dedicated the past three years of his life to. After three years of work he had finally finished his first game, which would launch in less than a month.

However, today was not about that, today he was meeting up with friends at their Kamen Rider club. He grabbed his Gamer Driver and his gashats and got going

It wasn't long until he arrived at the Takahashi household, where the group was meeting, it was a sizable place just outside of town.

Once he was at the room they were holding the meeting in, he saw that the only one not yet present was John.

"Hey James." He was greeted by Yume, she was a tall brunette with dark brown eyes. At the moment she was setting up the TV. Meanwhile, her brother Daiki was playing Ganbarizing, yes they own not one, but two Ganbarizing cabinets.

Daiki had his sister's hair and eye color and was fairly thin, he always had a grin on his face.

"Yo, Daiki, how about a round or two while we wait for John to show up." James suggested as the got out his Ganbarizing Cards.

"Your on!" Daiki responded before the two went at it for what felt like hours. Until, Eventually, Jonathan Showed up.

"Hey everyone, what's up?" John asked once he arrived.

"Just waiting on you." Yume deadpanned as she got up out of her chair. "Anyway, everyone bring your gear?" she asked gesturing to her Gamer Driver and Kamen Rider Brave's Gashats.

"Yep." Daiki responded, holding up his Driver and Lazer's Gashats.

"Same." James and John responded together as they held up their driver and gashacon bugvisors. James held Ex-Aid and Genm's Gashats and John held up Snipe's.

Even if they forgot the drivers they had extras, they just needed the gashats. Everyone put on their drivers and put in the gashats. From there they started bingeing Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, discussing, theorizing, and generally enjoying themselves, until around episode 12, someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it." James offered as he got up.

"We're not expecting anyone else." Yume said as she followed him, John and Daiki tagging as so not to just stare at the paused screen.

James opened the door to see a man in a black coat with purple detailing. "Finally I found you, Master." That was the last thing any of them heard before everything went dark.

 _ **Stage Clear!**_

 **Next Time:** **プロローグ** **: HISTORY** **のはじまり**

 _ **Prologue: Verge of History  
**_

* * *

 **Author's note: so here we are! my first submission on this site, it's a crossover with Kamen Rider Ex-Aid! anyway I'm working on the next chapter and should get it out soon, until then I'm open to criticism, so let me know if you have any ideas. This the Time-Space lord Eon signing out bye!**


	2. Prologue: Verge of History

プロローグ: HISTORYのはじまり

 **Prologue: Verge of History**

"Chrom, we have to do SOMETHING." That was the first thing James heard, it was a woman's voice. Upon hearing it, he began to open his eyes. There were two people, a woman and man it looked like, it was hard to tell at the moment.

"What do you propose we do?" another voice, a man's said.

"I... I dunno…" the woman responded. At this time James's eyes opened completely and he could properly see the people in front of him. One was a woman with blond hair and large pigtails. The other was a man with blue hair and eyes who looked very familiar. At that moment, the two noticed that he was awake.

"I see you're awake now." the blue haired man said

"Hey there." The girl said

" There're better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know." The blue haired man reached out his hand. "Give me your hand." James took as the blue haired man helped him. As he did James noticed some sort of mark on his hand; It was purple, resembling the outline of a reptile's head with six eyes. "You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, Thanks Chrom." that was the moment when James realized why the man was so familiar, he was the man from his dream.

"Ah, then you know who I am?" Chrom asked

"No, actually. I heard her call you that when I was waking up." James said pointing to the girl with the pigtails.

"Tell me then, what's your name? What brings you here?" Chrom asked

"My name is… It's... ugh" James said as he held his head. He shook his head. "My head hurts to much to think." he then looked around and realized something "I'm sorry, but where am I, exactly?" James asked confused, he was in the middle of an open field.

"Hey, I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!" The girl with pigtails exclaimed.

"It's called a loud of pegasus dung." said a heavily armored man that James hadn't noticed before. "We are to believe that you don't remember how you got here, when there is no sign that you arrived anyway other than simply walking here from the nearest town?"

"It's the truth!" James protested.

"...What if it IS true, Frederick? We can't just leave him/her here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?" Chrom added

"Just the same, milord. I must emphasize caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock." the armored man-Frederick said firmly in a way that actually reminded James of how Yume could be at times.

"Right then—we'll take him back to town and sort this out there." Chrom stated

"Do I have a say in this?" James asked calmly

"Peace, friend—I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come." Chrom assured. After that they got moving and as they walked Chrom noticed the look of concern on James's face. "You'll be free to go once we establish that you're no enemy of Ylisse." Chrom said.

"Is that where we are? Ylisse?" James inquired, now he was curious, he had never heard of this country and given Frederick's medieval armor; James was starting to suspect that wasn't in Kansas anymore, so to speak.

"You've never heard of the halidom? Ha! Someone pay this actor. He plays quite the fool! The furrowed brow is especially convincing." Frederick remarked.

"Frederick, please." Chrom asked "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt. I suppose proper introductions are in order... My name is Chrom—but then, you already knew that. The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa." Chrom said gesturing to the girl with pigtails. She didn't seem to like his comment.

"I am NOT delicate! …Hmph! Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you're lucky the Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!" Lissa cut in.

"Anyway, This is Frederick the Wary." Chrom continued, pointing to Frederick.

"A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise." Frederick explained.

"I understand, My name is James by the way, I was too concerned with my headache to bring it up earlier." James answered

"James? Is that foreign? Ah, well… we can discuss once we-" Chrom started.

"Chrom, look! the town!" Lissa interrupted, pointing to the town they were heading towards, in flames.

"Damn it! The town is ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt... Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!" Chrom swore as he started to run.

"What about him?" Frederick asked, gesturing to James.

"Unless he's on fire as well, it can wait!" Chrom shouted back.

"Aptly put, milord." Frederick responded before chasing after Chrom, Lissa soon following.

Now that he was alone, James took inventory of his belongings. Most of his gashats were gone, save for Mighty Action X and the proto version. He also had the Gamer Driver, which felt heavier for some reason. As he considered his next action, he accidently pressed a button a gashat.

 **Mighty Action X!**

* * *

Once the Shepherds arrived in town, they could see the supposed leader of the bandits shouting orders as he tossed a terrified woman aside. "Chrom, we have to stop them!" Liss pleaded.

"Don't worry, after today these bandits won't be bothering anyone anymore." Chrom Assured her.

As Chrom and Frederick Readied their weapons, they were interrupted by James arriving next to them. "James! You followed us! Why?" Chrom asked.

"I Think I have a way to help." James said as he reached for his Gamer Driver.

"Of course—strength in numbers. Just stay close!" Chrom ordered.

"Remember, James, we face practiced thieves and murderers. They will grant us no quarter. It's kill or be killed." Frederick warned

"Okay, moment of truth." James psyched himself up as held the Gamer Driver next to his waist, causing a belt to appear and fasten the Driver to his waist.

"What manner of sorcery is this!?" Frederick Demanded as he and the other panicked somewhat.

"You haven't seen the half of it." James proclaimed as he lifted the Gashat next to his head, and pressed the button.

 **Mighty Action X!**

A disembodied voice called out as a game screen appeared behind him as brown blocks appeared throughout the surrounding area. James smiled as held the gashat over the slot. "Henshin!" he called as he inserted the gashat.

 _ **"Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!**_

A spinning ring of icons appeared around James, once they slowed down he pressed the one directly in front of him, causing him to transform.

 _ **I'm a Kamen Rider!**_

James was covered in light for just a moment. Once it dissipated, Chrom and the others work shocked to see his new form. His helmet had determined orange eyes, left facing spiked pink 'hair'. His head was as wide his body and was embedded in his torso, meaning that, in order look around he had to move his entire body.

His chest plate had four colored button and a gauge that stretched from the buttons to the other side of chest. He was wearing generally white armor. He also had a chin guard resembling a mouth.

"W-What sort of creature are you!?" Frederick shouted in a panic, drawing the attention of a bandit swordsman. He aimed an attack at Lissa, which Chrom blocked. Chrom managed to cut his arm, but it didn't stop him;

 **Gashacon Breaker!**

That is until James hit him upside the jaw with a hammer. James turned back to the group. "I'm Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, and this my Action Gamer Lv.1 form." The newly christened Ex-Aid explained.

"That hammer is amazing!" Lissa gawked at the gashacon breaker, before noticing something strange. "What are those buttons for?"

"The A button allows me to change the weapon's mode. The B button allows me to perform more powerful attacks." Ex-Aid Explained before turning back to the battle.

Frederick shook himself out of his state of shock and engaged an ax-user, skewering him on his lance. "I suggest you focus on the task at hand." He called back at them. Ex-Aid nodded, granted in his form it was more like bowing.

Meanwhile as Chrom took out another axe-user. A bandit in a pointy hat that Ex-Aid figured might be some sort of magic user flung a fireball towards Chrom. Seeing this, Ex-Aid sprinted as fast as he could, 13.15 meters per second. He managed to block the fireball, lowering the gauge on his chest by a small amount.

"Thanks." said Chrom.

"Your welcome." Ex-Aid said before bringing his hand up to try to scratch the back of his head, when he found a button on his visor that he was pretty sure wasn't there on the show. He pressed the button and his view changed. There was a dark filter over his vision, with the words 'Scanning Mode' at the top of his field of vision. As he was looking around, the bandit mage came into view.

He saw a variety of values representing things like speed and strength, as well as the magic he had at the moment. Chrom noticed how distracted he seemed. "Still with us, James?" he asked concerned.

"Hmm… It's strange. With this visor, I can… Well, I can "see" things." Ex-Aid explained

"What kind of things?" Chrom questioned.

"The enemy's strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle." Ex-Aid elaborated.

"So, you can size them up a glance." Chrom concluded.

"Yeah, and probably more, if I try. By the way, that mage wouldn't stand much of a chance if you take him on now." Ex-Aid responded.

As Chrom rushed the mage, Lissa ran up to Ex-Aid carrying a staff. "Here you go, I may not be able to attack like Chrom, but when you get injured? I'LL be the one stitching your bones back together, care of my trusty staff!" she held up her staff, which produced a light green light. The light washed over Ex-Aid as the gauge on his chest filled in.

After all the bandits in the square were taken out, the group came together at the bridge across from where they saw the bandit leader. After making sure they were all fully healed they started to cross the bridge.

"Here, sheepy sheepy! Come to the slaughter!" The bandit leader shouted as he saw the group. "Get 'em boys!" he yelled as the last of his men charged.

"Heh, looks it's time to go all out." Ex-Aid remarked as he reached for the lever on the Gamer Driver.

"What's he doing?" Frederick wondered

"Dai Henshin!" Ex-Aid called out as he opened the lever.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!**_

A rectangular image Ex-Aid with more normal body proportions appeared. Ex-Aid then quickly ran through it, causing his body to break apart and scatter, leaving his head in place. "By the gods, what is this man?" Frederick called out in shock.

However, a new body sprouted from the head, with it acting as a backpack. His suit was pink with neon green accents and on his body was several sets of lines that went from his torso, which sported the same chest plate, to his sides and down his legs. His helmet was mostly the same just adjusted to fit a normal person's head.

Ex-Aid scratched where his nose would be before calling out. "This is Action Gamer Lv.2!" he said holding up two fingers. "Let's go!" he called to his new allies, shaking them out of his state of shock.

"Frederick, you and Lissa will stay behind and handle these brigands while Chrom and I handle their leader!" Ex-Aid offered, to which Chrom nodded.

Ex-Aid and Chrom charged past the bandits on the bridge to confront their leader. "Gwa ha ha! Do you really think that some castle born welp can beat me." The leader boasted before throwing his ax at Ex-Aid, reducing his gauge by about a quarter.

"Chrom, let's do this!" Ex-Aid proclaimed.

 **Gashacon Breaker!**

Ex-Aid Pressed the A button.

 **Ja Kīn!**

A sword blade with a resemblance to his hair unfolded from the hammer. Chrom the rushed the bandit leader, however his attack was blocked, holding both combatant's weapons in place. Ex-Aid ran in, pressing the B button, when he struck he pulled a trigger on the handle and the sword was surrounded by energy.

"Gwarrgh!" The leader shouted in pain as he stumbled but didn't fall yet.

"Chrom." Ex-Aid said getting his attention. "I'm gonna finish this, stand back." Chrom did so as Ex-Aid tossed the gashacon breaker aside and removed the gashat from the driver. He held it to his mouth and blew on it before placing in the slot on his side and pressed the button twice.

 **"Kimewaza! Mighty Critical Strike!"**

He leg overflowed with power as he ran at the bandit leader who tried to block with his ax, only to have it snap on contact with his leg. Ex-Aid delivered a series of high powered kicks. He then stepped back and leap into the air and delivered a drop kick to the bandit's chest, killing him.

 **"Kaishin no Ippatsu!**

From there it wasn't long until the remaining bandits were dealt with. And Ex-Aid closed the driver without putting the gashat back in, returning him to his civilian form.

"Well that's the end of that." James remarked as he made his way back to the others.

"Lucky for the town, we were close by. But holy wow, James! You were incredible! Those powers, that hammer, AND tactics! Is there anything you can't do?" Lissa cheered.

"You're certainly no helpless victim, that much is for sure." Chrom remarked

"Indeed. Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?" Frederick commented.

"I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick." James said. "Though I fear you may not believe me when I tell that I come from another world." Chrom and Lissa's eyes widened. "As for how, I don't know."

"I find that unlikely." Frederick said as he reached for his spear.

Chrom put out his hand to stop him as he looked at James. "You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough."

"And your mind, milord? Will you now heed its council as well?" Frederick interjected.

"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with James's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactician? Besides, I believe his story, odd as it might be." Chrom stated firmly

"Thanks Chrom." James Thanked

"So how about it? Will you join us, James" Chrom asked

James thought for a moment, he had no idea how to get home, and these guys might help him find his friends. "Yes, I'll do it." He answered with a smile.

"One thing first, I think I should go get some new clothes." James said, looking at his t-shirt and jeans.

"Alright meet us back here once you're done." Chrom responded.

* * *

After about an hour of looking not only did find some clothes he liked, but the shopkeeper was willing to customize it for free. It was mostly black with a gold trim. The old man had added a purple pattern similar to the lines on Ex-Aid Lv.2. He also got a pair of boots that would last longer and pair of leather fingerless gloves, figuring that there was a reason that a lot showa riders wore them.

After his shopping trip, which do to him being the town's hero and all was free, this fortunate because he didn't have any money. Anyway, once he met up with the rest of the Shepherds, Frederick was saying something to Chrom.

"Did you notice, milord? The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent." he reported

"Plegian?" James inquired

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor. They send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war." Chrom explained.

"I see." James responded

"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer! Totally innocent, and totally helpless…" Lissa added

"They do have us, milady: Shepherds to protect the sheep. Do not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgment." Frederick reassured her.

"I know, I know... Don't worry. I'll get used to all this." Lissa sighed. Just then an old man from town came to meet us.

"Milord, please! You must stay the night! We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast!" the old man offered happily.

"A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand... But I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol." Frederick politely declined the man's offer.

"Dark meat only for me, medium well, and no salt in the soup. I simply—" Lissa started before realizing what Frederick said. "Wait, what?! We're not staying?! But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!" She complained.

"When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like... I believe you mentioned you would be "getting used to this"?" Frederick countered.

"Frederick? Sometimes I hate you." Lissa deadpanned

"That's a stern lieutenant you've there." James remarked

"Yeah, well, "stern" is one name for it. I can think of a few others!" Lissa continued to complain.

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe."Chrom warned

"Noted." James answered

"*Ahem* You do realize I AM still present?" Frederick commented

"Oh, we realize."Chrom said in a joking tone.

"Heh heh" James chuckled

"Milord remains as amusing as ever. Now then, shall we be going?" Frederick suggested

"All right, all right." Chrom conceded "Ready to go, James? The capital isn't far." James nodded and the group was on their way.

* * *

 **Alright, here's the second chapter of Ex-Aid's awakening. I really wanted to get this out yesterday but just didn't have time. Also that thing with the visor was an idea I had to help the riders feel distinct from their show counterparts. So anyway I think you'll like the next chapter, which introduce some new characters. This is Time-Space lord Eon saying**

 **see you next game.**

 **EDIT: fixed a typo.**


	3. Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change

**第1章:不愉快 CHANGE**

 ** _Chapter 1: an Unwelcome Change_**

Shortly after they left town, they reached a forest that Chrom said was a short way west of the capital. It wasn't long until the sun started to set.

"I told you—it's getting dark already! ...Ech! And now the bugs are out! Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over and bite you when—" Lissa complained until a bug flew into her mouth. "Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!" She tried to spit it out.

"Aw, come on now, Lissa. Hardship builds character. Want to help me gather firewood?" Chrom teased.

"Tpht! Tpht! Yeeeeeuck! ...I think I swallowed it…" Lissa continued to complain. "I'll pass on finding firewood, thanks. I think I've built QUITE enough character for one day!" She then snapped at Chrom.

"We should probably get some food." James suggested

"Yes, I should think a little hunting and gathering is in order. Now, who wants to clear a campsite?" Frederick added.

"I'll do it." James offered.

It wasn't long until Everyone was sitting around a campfire with a good amount of meat in front of them. "Mmm... It's been too long since I last had bear meat. Delicious!" Chrom remarked until he noticed that Lissa wasn't eating. "What's wrong, Lissa? Dig in."

"Pass! ...Gods, couldn't you spear us an animal normal people eat for once?" Lissa complained "I mean, come on! Who eats bear?! You're meddling with the food chain. Right, James? ...Uh, James?" She looked over to the Tactician, only to find him completely absorbed in his meal.

"I suppose a person would enjoy just about anything after not eating for days…" Lissa sighed.

"Just eat it, Lissa. Meat is meat." Chrom requested.

"Since when does meat smell like old boots?! Wait, I take that back—boots smell better!" she continued to complain.

"Every experience makes us stronger, milady. Even those we don't enjoy." Frederick countered.

Lissa pouted until she noticed something. "Really? Then why don't I see YOU eating, Frederick?" She pointed out.

"Me? Oh, well... I'm not hungry. I...I had a large lunch! Yes, quite." he responded, though this was clearly just an excuse.

"Yeah right, Frederick!" Lissa protested.

* * *

About an hour later, Chrom and Lissa had fallen asleep. James on the other hand was wide awake, staring at Mighty Action X. Soon, Frederick returned from patrolling the immediate area.

"I see you're still awake." He remarked as he sat down next to James.

"Can't sleep." James admitted.

Frederick noticed the gashat in his hand. "That was the first time you took a life, wasn't it." James nodded. "It pains to say this but, that feeling will never go away, you simply grow used to it." He said calmly. That didn't seem to do anything to improve how James was feeling.

"Your swordplay needs work." Frederick commented, causing James to look up at him. "If you can't sleep then we might as well train." Frederick said as he lifted a bronze sword he purchased in town.

James Nodded and pressed the button on his gashat.

 **Mighty Action X!**

He summoned his weapon without transforming.

 **Gashacon Breaker!**

 **Ja Kīn!**

From there, Frederick started to train James in proper swordsmanship.

Some time later, James and Frederick were sound asleep. James cuddling the Gashacon Breaker as he slept. As the two slept, something woke Chrom.

"Huh?" he said as he woke.

This was enough to wake Lissa somehow, despite her not even noticing James and Frederick's training.

"What's wrong, Big Brother?" Lissa yawned.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but... Something is amiss…" Chrom apologized.

"Define "something"." Lissa questioned.

"I'm not sure... I think I'll have a look around." Chrom said as he picked up his sword.

"Not alone, you won't! I'm coming too." Lissa insisted, grabbing her staff.

Chrom nodded "Heh. Thanks, Lissa." he said as they started going.

* * *

As they walked they felt that something was wrong. "It sure is dark." Lissa said before realizing something. "And quiet. Where did the birds go?"

"Something is wrong here." As soon as Chrom said that, the ground started violently shaking.

"Aaah! Chrom!" Lissa shouted as she clinged to her brother.

"Gods, what is this madness?! Lissa, stay close!" Chrom ordered until felt something change. " Lissa, run." he ordered.

"Huh?" she questioned, confused.

"I mean it! Go!" Chrom shouted. She listened and the two started running to find James and Frederick. As they did, the earth split open and lava poured out. Flaming rocks were launched from the crevice. Causing large parts of the forest to catch fire.

The two ran as fast as they could. "Hey! This Way!" Chrom said as he turned towards their camp.

Once they had escaped the flaming part of the forest, they stopped to catch their breath. Lissa looked up and saw something. "Chrom, what IS that?!" The sky seemed fold in on itself for a moment as light gathered in one point. It then dispersed, leaving a ring of symbols around a group of floating crystals. The crystals opened like an eye. Two figures fell from the eye.

After they landed, they began to stand up, the looked almost human. Their skin was ash-grey, their eyes glow red. Both of them carried an ax. One of them rushed Chrom, he blocked the attack and slashed its stomach. The creature turned around to attack again. Chrom knocked it down and stabbed its back, causing it to dissolve into a black missed.

Chrom heard Lissa scream, he turned to see one of the creatures approaching her. Chrom ran as fast as he could as Lissa saw someone leap from the eye in the sky. When they landed, they sprinted in between Lissa and the creature's axe, blocking it with their sword. The person was a blue-haired man with a mask covering most of his face.

"Help!" The man called to Chrom, as the creature was still pressing down on their sword. Chrom snapped out of his distracted state as a result of seeing someone jump out the sky. Chrom nodded his head and ran at the creature, causing it to raise its head and ax, leaving for both swordsmen to attack, causing it to dissolve.

Chrom looked to the masked man. "Quite an entrance. What's your name?" before he could get an answer however, Frederick and James both made an appearance.

"Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?" Frederick questioned as he arrived.

"Frederick! James!" Lissa shouted as she ran to them for cover.

"Are these things normal?" James asked as he looked at the creatures.

"They most certainly are not." Frederick responded. "And no one is injured, thank the gods."

"Thank the masked man who saved me! If it wasn't for him, I'd be…" Lissa said as she looked towards where the man was, only to see he was gone. "Hey, where did he go?"

"We can worry about that after these things are dead!" James said as he put on the Gamer Driver.

Chrom nodded as looked to the group of creatures that was approaching the western edge of the forest.

As James prepared to fight he noticed a pair of forts nearby, he quickly came up with a plan. "Chrom, you take shelter in that fort to the south, it should give you an advantage." Chrom nodded "Frederick, you go through the forest and take the monsters by surprise, Lissa you stay with him, just in case." They both nodded. "I'll head to northern fort and draw their attention." he raised the gashacon breaker. "On my mark, GO!" James and Chrom ran to the forts as Frederick and Lissa moved through the forest.

Once at his fort Chrom fought and injured one of the monsters, however it was soon drawn away when James enacted his plan.

James stood at the highest point of the fort and pressed the button on his gashat.

 **Mighty Action X!**

He pressed the B button on the breaker and threw it skyward.

 **Ba Kōn!**

"Henshin" he inserted the gashat into the driver.

 _ **Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!**_

He tapped his icon.

" _ **I'm a Kamen Rider!"**_

His transformation drew the attention of most of the monsters. He was able to fight off the horde for a few minutes, until someone came out of the forest. It was a female red haired mounted knight, with someone riding with her on her horse.

Ex-Aid tapped on scanning mode and zoomed in allowing him to see who was with her. It took him a second until he realized that it was Yume.

"Captain Chrom! Wait! I'm coming!" She called out until she saw the monsters. "Agh, I knew I shouldn'ta left 'em. All right, you ash-faced freaks! Which one of ya wants to try my lance on for size first? I know just the spot for it: shoved right up your—" She started to shout until a man with light blue hair and fancy clothes followed them out of forest.

"Hold, milady!" The man said.

"Muh?" the knight said as she and Yume gave him a strange look.

He took Yume's hand "Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting! You must stay by my side so that I may protect you." he said trying to sound impressive.

"Uh, who are you?" Yume said sounding annoyed.

"Ha! Is the lady intrigued?" he said still trying to be impressive. "Of course you are—it's only natural. I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage! The man who puts the "arch" in "archer"! My name, dear lady, is Vi—"

"I'm sorry, but I think we should get going." Yume said before the knight's horse started moving towards the battle.

"Virion! ...Er, my name. It's Virion. W-wait! Where are you going? Pray, at least tell me your name!" he got out as he tried to follow.

The knight stopped so he could catch up. "My name is Yume." She said politely.

""Yume"! How divine! A starkly beautiful name, as befits its owner, truly. Will you marry me, my dearest Yum—" he was interrupted by Yume smacking him on the head.

"If you want to impress me, it'll alot more then shallow flattery and boasting." She said firmly.

"I like you, I'm Sully be the way." the knight said shaking Yume's hand.

"Of course, then allow me to be of assistance." Virion insisted.

Seeing this, Ex-Aid had a wonderful idea. He took a deep breath and started shouting loud enough to heard by everyone in the area. "Oi! Fancy pants, you said you're an archer? Then cover Chrom! Sully, you help Frederick and drop Yume off with me!" The tactician instructed, everyone did as they were told.

Once Yume arrived at the fort, she was met with James, who had undone his transformation to talk to her. "Yume" he said "I know this sounds ridiculous, but the Gamer Driver and the gashats actually work."

She looked skeptical "Okay then, prove it." she said bluntly

James nodded and pressed the button on his gashat

 **Mighty Action X!**

A screen appeared behind with the words 'Game Start' floating in front of him. "Okay, your turn." he said calmly as she pulled out her Gamer Driver and attached to her waist and pressed the button on her gashat.

 **Taddle Quest!**

James nodded at her and the both held their gashats over the slots.

"Henshin!" they said together.

 _ **Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!**_

They both tapped their corresponding icons to transform.

" _ **I'm a Kamen Rider!"**_

After the light died down Yume started to stumble do to the new body shape. Before she could fall, Ex-Aid caught. "Alright!" he said "Now you're Kamen Rider Brave Quest Gamer LV.1!"

Her helmet resembled a knight out of a fairy tale with a blue plumage. She also had blue shield.

"Alright, just focus on your weapon." Ex-Aid instructed

 **Gashacon Breaker!**

"I'm trying but nothing's happening." Brave replied.

Ex-Aid put his hand to his 'chin' and thought for a moment. He then handed her a bronze sword he found in the fort. "This will have to do for the time being, now, let's go." he said as he rushed out of the fort.

They were met by a group of about fifteen of the monsters. Without saying a thing, Ex-Aid smashed one of the nearby blocks he had produced. Out of it came an object which looked like some sort of token, it quickly absorbed into Ex-Aid's body.

 **Muscle Up!**

His body briefly bulked up as his strength increased. Brave did the same.

 **Speeding Up!**

Her speed greatly increased. With Ex-Aid's strength made it so he could destroy the monsters in one blow, whereas Brave was fast enough that none of them could hit her.

It in a matter of minutes, the two reduced the enemy numbers to just one. This one however, stood seven feet tall and was much more aggressive, rushing at the riders as soon as they were in sight. Ex-Aid managed to dodge without a problem, Brave on the other hand took a blow from it's ax dead on, shattering her sword.

"Brave, It's time to level up." Ex-Aid suggested, to which Brave nodded.

"Dai Henshin!"

"Proceeding with level 2"

They both opened their levers.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!**_

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle Quest!**_

Once he had reached Lv.2, Ex-Aid looked over to Brave, her suit was mostly blue with large black areas. She white 'sleeves' on her arms and her shield was fitted to her more like a gauntlet. This was Kamen Rider Brave Quest Gamer Lv.2

Ex-Aid couldn't help but notice that chest piece was tightly fitted to her womanly figure. When he noticed this, he blushed under his helmet.

The broken sword brave was still holding started shining.

 **Gashacon Sword!**

The light dispersed to reveal a sword modeled to look as if it were on fire. Both riders ran in and engaged the monster getting a few hits until Brave took a blow from the monster's ax to the stomach.

Ex-Aid ran to his comrade. "C'mon let's finish this freak." Brave nodded. They both raised their weapons and pressed the B buttons.

 **Ja Kīn!**

The gashacon sword made a sound like cracking ice as the sword's blade rotated to reveal a side that looked encased in ice.

Both riders removed their gashats from their Driver and placed them into their weapons. Both weapons overflowed with power until the pulled the triggers on the handles.

 **Mighty, Taddle… Critical Finish!**

Brave's sword created a path of ice for her to skate along as Ex-Aid lept into the air. When they were in range, they both slashed the monster, leaving an 'X' engraved in it's chest before it dissolved into mist.

They both returned to civilian form. Yume nearly collapsed due to the injuries that carried over from the hits she took. "I gotcha." James assured as he helped her back to the group.

Once they arrived, James handed Yume to Lissa to heal. Shortly afterwards the masked man returned. "It seems all the creatures are vanquished. This young man took care of the others." Frederick reported. The masked man stayed silent.

Lissa came to the front of the group. "Um, I never got to thank you...for before. So...thank you. You were very brave." she thanked with a slight blush.

"You saved my sister's life. My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?" Chrom questioned.

"You may call me Marth." he said plainly.

"Marth? After the heroic king of old? You certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your way with a sword?" Chrom wondered out loud.

"I'm not here to talk about me. This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned." Marth said before taking his leave. After hearing his voice, James noticed something which made him suspicious of the swordsman.

"Huh? What's teetering where now? Hey, wait!" Lissa called to Marth, who didn't slow in the slightest.

"Not much of a talker is he." Yume commented.

"It appears his skills lie elsewhere. I wager we'll hear his name again... But for now I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste." Frederick urged, to which everyone nodded and got moving.

Along the way James explained everything he knew to Yume, who in turned explained that Sully was taking her to the capital to find a place to stay.

* * *

After they left, two people standing in a tree were talking, one of them had a dragon fang necklace while the other was wearing a sweater. "So, What do you think, Parad?" the one with the necklace asked.

"This is going to be fun once we can start our game." the other one, Parad said "With those things and the people with the gashats, it all so mysterious, like a puzzle." he said with a grin.

"Either way, we should get back soon, the 'king' won't be happy if we're late." the other said.

"Alright, let's go Graphite." Parad said before the two disappeared on a flash.

* * *

They reached the capital about an hour after sunrise. It was a large clean looking city with people filling every nook and cranny. "So, this Ylisstol, seems like a nice place." James remarked.

"It appears the capital was spared the chaos we encountered, thank the gods. I see no evidence of the great quake. It must've been limited to the forest." Frederick said relieved

"Well, that's a relief!" Lissa added.

As they walked, an old man called out. "Look! The exalt has come to see us!" the whole group looked to see a blond woman surrounded by a small armed guard detail.

"She's your ruler, right?" Yume asked.

"Yes. Her name is Lady Emmeryn." Frederick confirmed.

"Should she be out in the open like this?" James asked with concern.

"The exalt is a symbol of peace—Ylisse's most prized quality. Long ago, at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon tried to destroy the world. But the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon and laid the beast low. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us all of the peace we fought for then." Frederick explained. This was something that James would keep in mind.

"With Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her. She's a calming presence, when some might otherwise call for war." Chrom added.

"Good thing the people have her then." Yume said with a smile.

"She's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!" Lissa added cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess she wou—" Yume started to say before realizing the implication. "Wait— then you and Chrom are—"

"The prince and princess of the realm, yes." Frederick finished for her.

"You said you were _Shepherds_!" Yume exclaimed baffled.

"It's symbolic, Cupcake." James said with a slightly sarcastic tone. Yume's face went red and she tried smack James on the head, only for him to dodge with no effort.

"I told you not to call me that anymore!" She shouted at him, to which he only shrugged. Yume blushed for a moment before bowing to Chrom and Lissa. "I'm so sorry Prince Chrom, please forgive me."

"It's alright." Chrom waved it off. "And just Chrom is fine, I've never been one for formalities." he said causally.

"Good, I wouldn't use them anyway." James commented "Explains why Frederick stands you and Lissa though."

"Indeed. Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm." Frederick agreed.

"It looks like Emm is returning to the palace." Chrom observed. "Would you like to meet her?" he asked with smile.

"Sure." James answered while Yume nodded excitedly.

* * *

The main hall of the palace was possibly the most ornate place James had ever been, though he wasn't sure.

"Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home." Emmeryn called out. "Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fared you all?" She added when the group reached the throne.

"Well—we shouldn't have any bandit problems for awhile." Chrom said with a slight grin.

"Wonderful. And our people?" asked with a warm smile.

"Safe as they can be, Emm. But we still need to watch the borders. The brigands crossed over from Plegia." Chrom reported.

"Forgive me, milord. My pegasus knights should have intercepted them." a woman in armor designed for mobility, presumably Emmeryn's head guard apologized.

"No, Phila. Your duty was here, with the exalt." Chrom countered.

"And besides, we had plenty of help!" Lissa added.

"Ah, you speak of your new companions here?" Emmeryn questioned.

"This is James. He fought bravely with us against the brigands. I've decided to make him a Shepherd." Chrom said pointing to James, he then pointed to Yume. "And this is Yume, she aided us as we made our way back to the capital. I'm planning to ask her to join us as well."

"It sounds as though Ylisse owes you two a debt of gratitude." Emmeryn said thankfully.

"Not at all!, Your Grace." Yume said humbly while James merely nodded.

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but I must speak." Frederick cut in "James claims that he and Yume come from another world, but it is only that: a claim. We cannot rule out the possibility that they are brigands themselves or even Plegian spies." Frederick voiced his concern.

"Frederick!" Chrom shouted, clearly upset.

"Yet you allowed them into the castle, Chrom. Do these people have your trust?" The Exalt asked calmly.

"Yes. They risked their life for our people. That's good enough for me." Chrom answered

"Well then, James and Yume ... It seems you've earned Chrom's faith, and as such you have mine as well." Emmeryn said with a smile.

"Thank you, milady." Yume thanked while James bowed.

Emmeryn looked to Frederick "But thank you, Frederick, for your prudence, as always. Chrom and Lissa are blessed to have so tireless a guardian. I do hope they remember to mention that from time to time…" she said.

"They occasionally express something akin to gratitude, Your Grace." Frederick said dryly before turning to Phila. "Phila. I assume you've heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes?" He inquired.

"Yes, milord. They've been sighted all across Ylisse." the knight responded.

"Chrom, we are about to hold council. I was hoping you could join us." Emmeryn told her brother.

"Of course." Chrom responded as the two took their leave.

"I think that's our cue, you two! C'mon, there's a place I want to show you." Lissa said as she took James and Yume with her. James had a feeling that this would be interesting.

* * *

 **Sorry this took so long, definitely took longer than I expected, It is a story heavy chapter with a new rider. Also, what do you think of those people in the forest? Anyway, hopefully the next chapter won't take so long, until next time this is Time-Space lord Eon saying See You Next Game!**


	4. Chapter 2: Shepherds

第2章:SHEPHERDS

 _ **Chapter 2: Shepherds**_

Lissa dragged the two to an area stocked with medical supplies and spare weapons, among other things. James could see three people when they arrived, a woman in pink-ish armor with a skirt. There was also a blonde man without a shirt, and off to the side was a man in oversized armor.

"Here we are! The Shepherds' garrison. Go on, Make yourself at home." Lissa said as they arrived, catching the attention of the people in the room.

"Lissa, my treasure! Are you alright? I've been on pins and needles!" called a rich looking girl as she ran into the room to check on Lissa.

"Oh, hey, Maribelle!" Lissa greeted rather casually.

"'Oh hey' yourself! I've sprouted 14 grey hairs fretting over you!" Maribelle snapped back, leaving Yume to wonder if she actually counted.

"Aw, you worry too much. I can handle a battle or two!" Lissa assured "Although I could do without the bugs and the bear barbecue." She then complained.

"Hey, squirt!" The blonde man called out to Lissa. "Where's Chrom? I bet he had a rough time out there without ol' Teach and his trusty axe!" He boasted.

"Oh, so you're "Teach" now, Vaike, is that it? Hee hee! And here I thought people were just born lacking wits. It can be taught?" Lissa taunted jokingly.

"Ha! Never doubt the Vaike!" Vaike boasted before realizing what she said. "Wait, was that an insult?" This got a chuckle out of both James and Yume.

"Beg pardon, but when might we see the captain?" The woman in armor asked..

"Poor Sumia. She's simply been beside herself with concern... Her eyes were scanning the horizon all day during training. ...She might have earned fewer bruises fighting blindfolded." Maribelle commented.

"Aw, Sumia, that's so sweet of you to worry about Chrom." Lissa said with a smile.

Sumia's face went red "Worry? Well, I... He's our captain and our prince- of course I'd worry!" she stammered.

Vaike then realized something. "So, who're the strangers?" he asked bluntly.

"No one's stranger that you Vaike" Lissa joked. "But allow me to introduce James and Yume! they just joined the Shepherds. Chrom's made James our new tactician. You should see all the tricks they've got up their sleeves!"

"Oh yeah? Can they do this?" Vaike asked before letting loose probably the third or fourth loudest belch James had ever heard.

"That is disgusting!" Yume yelled at Vaike while James said nothing, completely straight-faced.

"Ugh, Vaike! That was abhorrent! Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air with your buffoonery?" Maribelle yelled at Vaike before turning to Yume. "And you, Yume, I'm glad to see you have at least some class." she said before leaving.

Shortly after, Chrom came into the garrison.

"Ah! Captain! You've returned! I was- I mean, we were so-" Sumia stammered as she walked towards Chrom, not noticing some papers on the ground, which caused her to slip and fall; only for James to catch her before she hit the ground. Yume couldn't help but smirk at the sight.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings." James said, briefly having to refrain for chuckling as he remembered how many times he was told that at the orphanage.

"Sumia! Are you alright?" Chrom asked with clear concern in his voice as James got her back on her feet. "Those boots of yours again?" Chrom guessed.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean…" Sumia stuttered before sighing in defeat.

Chrom looked to everyone assembled. "All right, listen, everyone: in the morning, we'll be marching to Regna Ferox." He announced.

"Regna Ferox? Where's that?" Yume asked.

"A unified kingdom to Ylisse's north inhabited by barbarians, or so it's said." Sumia explained.

"Warriors are what they are, and we'll need their strength to quell this new menace." Chrom clarified "Typically, the exalt would request such aid in person. But given recent events... Well, the people might worry should my sister suddenly leave the capital. So the task has been passed to us. Now, this mission is strictly voluntary. So if, for any-" Chrom continued

"I volunteer!" Lissa cut in.

"Me too! You'll be needin' ol' Teach along for such a delicate mission!" Vaike added.

"I'll go as well." The man in yellow added, only for no-one to notice him except for James, who walked to his side.

"Don't worry, I noticed you." James assured him.

"Thank you, my name is Kellem by the way." He replied.

Meanwhile, Sumia spoke up. "I... I, um…"

"Yes, Sumia?" Chrom questioned.

"It's just that... I'm not sure I'm quite ready for a proper mission just yet. I'd probably just get in the way." she said nervously.

"Well, you could stay behind the main group, and if a battle is met, just watch and learn?" Chrom offered. James nodded, it seemed reasonable enough. "Your choice of course. But, some lesson can only be learned on the battlefield." Chrom added.

"I agree.." James added.

"W-well, if you both think it wise." She said, accepting the offer.

"Just stay by me and you'll be fine." Chrom assured her.

"Oh, yes! I mean-" She started, clearly overwhelmed with joy until she caught herself. "Yes, sir, I'll do that!" she finished

* * *

Afterwards the Shepherds went off to prepare to leave the next day. Yume, not having much else to do, was making her way to the training grounds after putting on some leather that Frederick gave her. Once she reached her destination she picked up a practice sword, only to realize she didn't know the first thing about swordsmanship.

As she stood there, unsure of what to do, Chrom walked in and noticed her. "Oh Yume, what brings you here?" He asked rather casually.

"O-Oh, I wanted to come and train to improve with a sword." She started nervously. "However, I don't really know anything about using a sword." She admitted.

"Well, perhaps I could teach you a thing or two." Chrom offered as he grabbed a training sword.

"Really? Thank you Chrom." Yume thanked before they started to train.

* * *

Meanwhile in the castle library, Sumia was looking for the Shepherds' new tactician. She went to one of the servants. "Excuse me, have seen a tall man with brown hair, wearing a black and purple coat?" the servant nodded and pointed Sumia in the right direction.

When she found him, he was engrossed in books on military history and geography. "Um, excuse me," she started, but it seemed that the tactician wasn't paying any attention. She lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

He vaguely acknowledged her presence. She tapped his shoulder again, this time he looked up to actually notice her. "Oh, Sumia, what brings you here." he asked fairly causally.

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you for earlier." She said.

"Oh, well there's no need for that, I was just doing the right thing." he replied.

"Ok, I'll be my way than," she said as she made her way out.

Some time afterwards, James noticed the she had left what looked to be a romance novel behind.

* * *

The next morning, the Shepherds were marching on the northroad on their way to Regna Ferox. Before long, James noticed a man in green armor similar to Sully's running up from behind them.

"W-wait for me!" he called out.

"Stahl?" Chrom responded somewhat confused.

"Why am I the last to hear about this expedition to Ferox?" Stahl complained as he caught his breath.

"Huh? Vaike was supposed to…" Lissa wonder aloud before realising something. "Vaike! Did you forget to tell Stahl about our mission?" She berated him.

"The Vaike never forgets! ...I just don't always remember, is all…" he tried to defend, rather unsuccessfully.

"Ugh... I swear, you'd forget your own name if you weren't constantly saying it yourself! Speaking of which, are you SURE you remembered your axe this time?" Lissa continued to chide him.

"Hey! That was one time! ...Okay, twice, but training sessions don't count." Vaike countered, poorly. "Anyway, I got it right here. Teach is loaded and ready for action! Glad to have you along, Stahl, ol' buddy" he changed the topic.

"That makes one of us. I was in such a hurry, I had to miss breakfast! There were muffins, and cakes, and... Well, I can tell you all about it while we march…" Stahl lamented.

"So, your name's Stahl?" Yume asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Yume, James. This is Stahl, one of our finest." Chrom introduced.

"Hello, James, Yume. Miriel told me we had a couple new Shepherds. Er, Miriel's one of our mages. She should catch up soon." Stahl explained.

After walking for another half an hour, they were greeted by a foul sight. "Gods, have the Risen spread this far?" Chrom cursed as they were faced by the same monsters from the forest.

"So, we're calling them 'Risen'?" James questioned as he reached for his Gamer Driver.

"Indeed, we needed a name for this new threat, so the council gave them one." Frederick confirmed.

"Everyone, remember what we're up against!" Chrom called out to the Shepherds as they prepared for battle.

"Mya ha! They'll remember ME once I drive my axe into their…" Vaike started to boast before realizing something very important. "Wait... My axe. Where's my axe?! I had it a second ago!" Vaike exclaimed in confusion.

"Vaike, this is no time for jokes…" Chrom groaned.

"I'm serious! It's gone, but I JUST had it! It's got to be around here somewhere..." Vaike shot back in panic.

"Just keep to the back than," James instructed. "Seriously, who just loses their weapon?" he further remarked.

"Hey, I don't see any weapons on you!" Vaike shot back.

"Heh, just watch." The tactician commented as he readied his gashat with Yume following suit.

 **Mighty Action X!**

The area was reformatted into a game area filled with brick blocks.

 **Taddle Quest!**

The game area was now also filled with treasure chests.

"W-what the?" Vaike stammered as the game screens appeared.

Both Riders inserted their gashats into their Gamer Drivers.

"Henshin" declared the duo.

 _ **Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!**_

They tapped their icons to transform.

" _ **I'm a Kamen Rider!"**_

Vaike and Stahl were left speechless for a moment before Ex-Aid spoke up.

"Brave, you take Virion and Stahl to handle the risen on the hill to the west. Chrom you go with Sully and Lissa to handle the forest to the east. Frederick and I will clear out those forts up north. We'll meet at the bridge afterwards.

As Chrom, Lissa, and Sully searched the forest, they soon relized that there were far fewer risen than there had appeared to be when approaching. As Chrom and Lissa wondered about that fact, Sully saw a group of risen surrounding what looked to be a group of merchants. "Captain, there some merchants being pinned down by the freaks," Sully informed the two as she charged.

Before she could even reach the risen, the were shot re-dead by a series if green bolts of light. When they turned to see the source of the blasts, they saw what Chrom and Lissa recognized as a Kamen Rider. They had a level 1 body, making it impossible to determine their gender. His helmet resembled a modern tactical helmet with the letters 'STG' on it. He had green 'hair' that covered one eye.

"Excuse me, but could we-" Chrom started but was totally ignored by the Rider.

The Rider jogged over to the merchants they had just saved. "Are you all okay?" the rider asked with a man's voice. The merchants all nodded 'yes'. "Good, now let's get you all out of here," he continued before turning around and seemed to notice Chrom and his companions for the first time.

He immediately raised his weapon, a gun, at the shepherds. "Peace, friend, we aren't responsible for these abominations." Chrom quickly assured.

"Well, who are you then?" the rider questioned without dropping his gun in the slightest.

"I am Prince Chrom of Ylisse," he declared confidently declared. "This is my sister, Lissa and Sully, a member of a peace-keeping force I lead."

The rider lowered his weapon slightly. "Okay, then, what are you doing out here? I don't think you would just wander up and down the northroad just waiting for bandits." he asked with a decidedly less hostile tone than before.

"We were on our way north to attempt to secure an alliance with Regna Ferox in dealing with both the risen and our increasingly aggressive neighbor to the west." Chrom explained. "Now if I may be so bold as to ask, your a Kamen Rider, are you not?"

"How do you know about the Kamen Riders?" he questioned as he lowered his gun.

"Oh, you see we have two of them with us, Ex-Aid and Brave, say what are you called?" Lissa quickly answered and than asked.

"Well, if you must know, I'm Snipe"

Meanwhile the other riders' fights were fairly uneventful, though Ex-Aid did get a lesson about salvaging enemy gear when Fredrick took a defeated risen's spear so that he could save his better one for stronger opponents.

Soon, both Ex-Aid and Brave's groups had regrouped, Yume was the first to ask the obvious question. "Where are Chrom and his group?"

"Yeah, I was just about to ask that myself" called out Vaike as he approached the group with a woman wearing robes and a pointed hat. The Riders presumed that this was Miriel that Stahl mentioned.

"Found your axe I see, eh 'teach'," Ex-Aid taunted.

"Actually, I found it, in fact, I'm considering gluing it to his hand." Miriel answered.

Ex-Aid bust out laughing. "Oh that is rich," he said while continuing to laugh hysterically. "Ohoho...ho, but anyway, we should focus on finding Chrom," he concluded, but before they could act on it, someone called.

"No need," everyone turn to see Chrom, Lissa, and Sully, all being followed someone who Ex-Aid and Brave recognized as Kamen Rider Snipe.

Ex-Aid quickly reviewed what he knew to confirm his thought before asking. "John?" he questioned the new Rider.

"Yep, so guess that would that you two are James and Yume?" he asked back.

"Bingo, all that leaves is Daiki." Brave answered.

"And based the pattern I'm seeing here, the would mean that he's Lazer." Ex-Aid added.

"Well, then, let's take out these freaks so we can find him." Brave said with renewed motivation.

"Alright, Shepherds, fan out and wipe take out the risen to the east and west, us Riders will take out the ones in the middle." Ex-Aid instructed. "Alright, it's time to Level up!" he proclaimed as all three Riders reached for the lever on their Gamer Drivers.

"Dai Henshin"

"Proceeding to Level 2"

"Mission phase 2"

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!**_

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle Quest!**_

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting!**_

All three Riders changed into their level 2 forms, Snipe's body was black with green lines on the sides. He also had a cape the covered his right shoulder.

"Alright let's go!" Snipe called out as the Riders stormed the bridge, taking out the risen with ease. During this Ex-Aid noticed that Brave's fighting style had changed for the better. It was similar to Chrom's without the added flair.

Once they had crossed the bridge and the Shepherds were fighting to the east and west, the Riders were faced with a single large risen like back in the forest. The first to attack was Brave who deflected it's axe and allowed Snipe to get in several shots from the gashacon magnum.

As it staggered back, Ex-Aid grabbed and energy item.

 _ **Kōtetsu-ka!**_

"Item Get!" Ex-Aid proclaimed as his body was coated in what looked like iron. He charged in and delivered a single punch which shattered the risen's axe. "Alright, let's finish this."

All three riders removed their gashats, but before the inserted them, Snipe had a suggestion. "Yume, let's switch gashats." he tossed Brave his Bang Bang Shooting.

"Okay, let's" Brave tossed him her Taddle quest and they inserted them into their weapons.

 _ **Bang Bang Critical Finish!**_

 _ **Taddle Critical Finish**_

 _ **Mighty Critical Strike!**_

Brave fired two energy projectiles that came together to form an 'X', Snipe fired two shots, one was buring hot, the other freezing cold. And Ex-Aid followed behind with a punch that was further powered by the Iron Body energy item. **"Mighty Iron Punch!"** he yelled at the top his lungs as all three finishers landed, causing the risen to not just dissolve into smoke, but explode in a huge fireball.

 _ **Kaishin no Ippatsu!**_

"Game Clear!" Ex-Aid called out in celebration as his power wore off and they undid their transformations.

"Finally, and good riddance!" Chrom exclaimed at the sight of the risen being defeated. "But if they're appearing this far up the Northroad…" he added on somberly.

"Then no path is safe. We'll need to stay wary." Frederick finished his lord's thought.

"Yeah, we should hurry and get help as soon as possible." James stated firmly as they gathered all their things to progress and sending the merchants the John had been traveling with to Ylisstol with haste.

* * *

Afterwards, the Shepherds continued to march along the northroad. As they were marching, James noticed something further up the road. "Hey, what's that over there?" he asked no-one in particular.

Lissa seemed to recognize it "Hey, is that what I think it is?"

As they approached the creature, James finally realized what it was and waas amazed. He thought they only existed in legends.

Chrom was the first confirm to James the animal's identity. "It's a pegasus, all right. I think it's hurt. Let's just have a look here…" He was right, when James looked closer, he saw blood on it's side. As Chrom tried to approach the wounded animal, it reared up and nearly kicked him. "WHOA! Down, girl! Easy there!" Chrom tried to calm the white pegasus down, though it seemed he was only making worse.

"Captain, one moment!" there was a call from the back, Sumia had rushed to the front, and immediately trip. Fortunately, James caught her, though noticeably harsher than before as this time, he only grabbed her collar and pulled her back to her feet.

' _Good grief'_ James thought to himself. _'How many times am I gonna have to do this?"_

"Sumia! Are you all right?" Chrom asked with clear concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to James." Sumia assured him.

"Yes, well stay back, this beast is crazed!" Chrom warned, clearly concerned for her safety.

"It's okay, Captain. I can handle this…" Sumia assured him as she petted the pegasus. "Shhh... Easy now, girl. I won't hurt you." she assured the animal as it almost instantly calmed down.

"Wow, how'd she calm that thing down so easy?" John wondered aloud.

"That's amazing Sumia!" Lissa praised.

"I've never seen anything like it." Chrom added.

"Oh, it's...it's nothing. Really. I just have a way with animals, I guess," Sumia tried to downplay it but that didn't stop anyone from being impressed.

"I should say so." Chrom responded.

"You all go ahead. I'll dress her wounds and catch up as soon as we're able."

Before anyone could object or question her choice, John spoke up. "Sure thing, but just in case something happens, take this." he said as he produced what appeared to be a gashacon weapon with the appearance of a tablet.

"Huh, so you still have your bugvisor?" James asked.

"Yeah, why?" John responded confused.

"It's just that when I arrived here I was missing mine." he clarified.

"Weird, let's hope that it hasn't wound up in the wrong hands" John responded in a tone the said he wasn't really worried

"Either way, we'll go on ahead, John, you catch up with us once you give a rundown of how to use that thing." James declared as he and the rest of the Shepherds resumed their march.

 _ **Game Clear!**_

 _ **Next time:**_ _ **第**_ _ **3**_ _ **章**_ _ **Warrior**_ _ **の王国**_

 _ **Chapter 3: Warrior Realm**_

* * *

 **A/N: oh sweet Naga, I was worried I'd never get this finished, over the last year or so, when ever I was able to write, I was unmotivated and whenever I was motivated, I didn't have access to my computer, not to mention the numerous instances of writer's block. I'm sorry if it just sounds like I'm making excuses, believe me, no-one is more disappointed that it took this long than me. So, a few things about this chapter, firstly, those merchants John was with were supposed to be alot more important to this chapter but just couldn't make that work. Secondly, I've actually been looking forward to the scene with John and Yume switching gashats since before I actually started writing this, though, James's use of the Iron Body item is an idea I came just today as I'm writing this. And Thirdly, how was it, did you like it, how was my grammar, especially punctuation, I'm terrible at that. So, everyone out there in internet land, tell me how I did and this is Time-Space lord Eon saying** _ **See you next game.**_


	5. Chapter 3: Warrior Realm

第3章:WARRIORの王国

 _ **Chapter 3: Warrior Realm**_

As the Shepherds marched towards to the border to Ferox, they were unaware of something very interesting that was happening at that border. As Raimi, head of the eastern border guard stood her post, she contemplated recent events. She wondered why all of this was happening now, though quickly shrugged it off as none of her business.

Her ponderings were cut short by a sudden interruption. "Hey, you the boss out here?" the voice came from a young man wearing a heavy fur coat and carrying a scroll held by agents of the Khans to prove their identity.

"Yes, I am, now tell me, what business does an agent of the West Khan have here?" she asked, identifying him by the seal on the scroll.

"Ah, yes, well my lord, the West Khan heard that there has been issues with bandits lately and sent me to help." he said politely as looked over the wall to the nation to the south.

"I don't need any help, let alone from one as young as you." Raimi shot back with a venomous tone.

"Hey, don't forget that I outrank you." The young man countered while showing off a medal that was on his coat. "And besides, while it may be true that I have a lot to learn, I have some very handy skills." Raimi opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by her superior. "You see, without so much as a horse, my associate and I arrived here from the western gate in less than nine hours." he explained, the mentioned associate being a letter barer, who informed the staff why they were there.

"Impossible, that is a distance of over five-hundred miles."

"Maybe for anyone else, but I can, with a _little_ help, travel at sixty miles an hour without tiring." he claimed while emphasising how minuscule the required help really was.

"I'll believe it when I see it." Raimi asserted.

Her superior didn't respond as he went to the edge of the wall, he looked like he was looking for something. He then produced a telescope from a pocket on his coat. He peered through it and a smile formed on his face. "Well, Captain Raimi, I think you might just get your chance to see what I can do." he put down his telescope and turned back to Raimi. "We've got company coming from the south."

* * *

As the Shepherds continued northward, the grassy plains were quickly replaced by snowy forests, making most of the shepherds really rather cold, except for Vaike, oddly enough.

"Geez man, aren't you cold without a shirt?" John, who was shivering in his jeans and work jacket from home, asked the burly fighter.

"Not at all, If I let a little cold get to me, I'd never be able to match the fighters the live in Ferox," he explained.

John seemed to consider this before speaking again. "So, they all dress the same way you do?" he inferred, more than asked.

"From what I've heard, yeah, and if their fine with this cold than I gotta be too." Vaike confirmed with a sense of pride in his voice.

"Wow, that is absolutely amazing, and it gives me an idea." a wide smile was forming on John's face. "It sounds like you want to be the strongest fighter around, am I right?" he pointed to Vaike with a wild smile, neither of them noticing that they had stopped marching and that the Shepherds were moving on without them.

"Yeah, what about it?" Vaike was getting really interested in where John was going with this.

"Well, I want to be a marksman worthy of the title of Kamen Rider Snipe," John elaborated, "so, how about we work together to reach those goals?" John asked, offering his muscular friend a handshake.

"Wanna be worthy?" Vaike quietly wondered before shaking his head. "You got a deal partner." Vaike happily accepted John's hand. And from their the two resumed their march, after sprinting to catch back up with the group, of course.

* * *

After another few hours, the wind picked up and it started snowing in addition to the existing cold. "Brrr! F-F-Frebberick! I'm f-f-freebing!" Lissa complained as she struggled to speak through her shivering. While normally, Lissa's complaining annoyed James, here he agreed with her. He was really hoping that the Feroxans had hot cocoa.

"Stand beside my horse, milady. She'll shelter you from the wind." Frederick offered, which Lissa gladly accepted.

As they continued walking, they came to a fortress that spread as far east and as far west as they could see. "So, is this the fortress?" Yume asked no-one in particular.

"Yes, the Longfort. It stretches along the border of Ylisse and Regna Ferox." Chrom explained. James had to admit that the thing earned its name seeing as according to his map, it stretched all the way across the continent.

"The khans that rule Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners." Frederick warned. "Still, don't mistake a lack of hospitality for open hostility. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy." he than assured, still James felt that something was about to go very wrong.

"Negotiation's not my strong suit, but I'll do my best. Remember, everyone: your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse." Chrom said to the group, sounding rather nervous himself.

And upon reaching the foot of the fortress, things did in fact go very wrong. The moment they arrived, James saw feroxi troops moving into position. "Chrom we've got trouble, the Feroxi are mobilizing." he informed Chrom while making sure that his Driver and gashat were ready for use at a moment's notice.

"What!? Why?" Chrom questioned as he reached for his sword.

"Dunno, but we should get ready for the worst." he advised solemnly.

"Alright, what do you suggest?" Chrom asked.

"Snipe, Virion, and the two of us had west, the others head east, and we coordinate when to head to the top." James planned out in his head by observing the feroxi positions. "This assumes of course that we have to fight." he added dryly.

Once the shepherds had been discretely arranged for battle, Chrom stepped towards the gate. "Halt! Who goes there?! Called a blonde female knight from atop the wall.

"In the name of House Ylisse, I seek audience with the Khans!" Chrom requested of the knight as he stepped forward once more.

"Not another step, my bold lad! I've lancers at the ready!" the knight warned as several soldiers armed with lances ready to skewer Chrom at a moment's notice.

"Wait, we're not your enemy, we were sent by Exalt Emmeryn to talk something that benefits all of us." Yume tried to explain.

At this point a young man wearing a heavy fur coat and hood walked out to join the knight. "Ah, but you see, you're not the first imposters to try to get thorough by saying your from Ylisse." his voice was distorted by something making it hard to tell what the voice actually sounded like.

"How dare you! You are in the presence of Prince Chrom, the exalt's own blood!" Frederick shouted out, clearly enraged. This only seemed to produce laughter from the hooded man.

"Yeah, and I'm King OOO!" while both the Ylisseans and Feroxi were confused by the mention of a king they had never heard of with such a strange name, for the Riders, that was their neon sign for a clue.

"Ah, you never change, do you man?" John called out jovially, he was glad to see his friend again.

"Nope! And I don't plan to." he called back, the distortion now gone. In an instant his expression went from joyfull to dead serious. "Anyway, I still have a job to do, so if you want to prove that you are who you say are, do it the Feroxi style, on the battlefield!" he declared, dramatically flourishing his coat as if it were a cape.

"Rgh... Emmeryn won't like this at all..." Chrom grumbled. "Please, good lady! If you'd just listen—"

"I've heard quite enough! Attack!" the knight cut him off.

Before anyone could act, the lancers on the wall all threw their lances at Chrom. If the Riders were transformed, they could probably do something, but as they were now, they could do nothing. But, as Chrom braced himself for what was to come, he was whisked away by a white and blue blur.

Chrom had closed his eyes in anticipation for the attack, but opened them a second later when he realized it wasn't coming. He was surprised to find himself sitting safely on a pegasus, he was even more surprised when he saw who was controlling said pegasus."Sumia…?" he muttered more out of surprise than disbelief.

"Better hold on tight, Captain. Could get bumpy." Sumia suggested firmly, but softly.

"R-Right," Chrom responded as he tightened his grip on the pegasus and readied his sword arm.

It was then that Chrom noticed several lancers preparing another volley, "Sumia!" he called out to warn her.

"Right!" she responded, as she gracefully maneuvered the pegasus back to the ground while avoiding flying lances.

Once they were firmly on the ground and Chrom was standing on his own two feet, Sumia let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Oh, Captain, I'm so relieved I made it in time," She happily exclaimed.

"That goes double for me, Sumia!" Chrom exclaimed back, before noticing something "And this—is this the same ornery pegasus we met on the road?!" Chrom exclaimed while equal parts surprised and impressed.

"Oh, she's a sweetheart, isn't she?" She said cheerfully before remembering how the pegasus had nearly injured Chrom "...Once you really get to know her…" she added that last part rather nervously.

"Well, many thanks to you both" Chrom responded jovially.

"I think the pegasus is blushing!" Lissa called out.

"Everyone, focus, we've got more problems than whether or not the flying horse is blushing!" Yume urged.

"Finally, someone gets it! If you wanna get through, you're gonna have to beat us." The Feroxi commander called as he pulled out both a Gamer Driver and a Yellow Gashat and afixed the belt to his waist.

"Wait!? You're saying we have to fight a Kamen Rider!?" Lissa shouted in shock.

"Yep!" he called back as he activated his gashat.

 **Bakusou Bike!**

As the game area formed, racing trophies appeared across the battlefield.

The other Riders followed suit and activated their own Gashats.

 **Mighty Action X!**

 **Taddle Quest!**

 **Bang Bang Shooting!**

As their games areas formed, Bang Bang Shooting fired out steel barrels painted to look like some kind of green ooze was leaking out.

All four riders inserted their gashats.

 _ **Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!**_

"Henshin!" all the Riders called out as the Shepherd Riders simply tapped their icons, while the Feroxi Rider kicked his.

" _ **I'm a Kamen Rider!"**_

The Feroxi Rider's helmet featured 'pigtails' that resembled bike handles and had spiked pink 'mohawk' down the middle.

"Kamen Rider Lazer" Ex-Aid commented on their opponent. He then turned to Sumia. "Anything I should know about pegasi?" he asked.

"Phila said pegasi can fly far afield, but they're highly vulnerable to arrows." She stated matter of factly before looking down at the pegasus. "Don't worry, girl. I'll watch out for archers for both our sakes!" She assured her mount.

"Alright, you go east than." Ex-Aid decided before turning to Chrom. "Change of plans, I'll go up and deal with Lazer." he said firmly.

Before Chrom could question how he would do that, Ex-Aid leapt up, creating brick blocks beneath him whenever he needed a boost.

Once he stood at the top he and Lazer squared of as the both deciding against using their weapons, Lazer throwing what looked like weaponized bike tires of to the side.

* * *

Meanwhile with Chrom and his group as they went west. They had only been walking for a minute when Chrom suddenly stopped.

"Huh, what is it boss?" John asked as Chrom began to look around nervously.

"It's strange, I feel like we're being watched." he said with a tone that was clearly trying to hide his nerves.

"You mean like a g-ghost?" Virion muttered in response.

"Ha! If it's a ghost, than all I gotta do is kick it's ass!" Snipe responded confidently.

"Uh, guys?...Guys! Right here, guys!" a voice called out seemingly from nowhere.

"Who's there!? Where are you!?" Snipe demanded violently as he summoned his weapon.

 **Gashacon Magnum!**

He wildly pointed his gun in all directions.

"I'm standing in plain sight, sir. Right he—" as the owner of the voice said that suddenly became visible.

"BWAAAH!" Chrom cried out before he realized that he knew this man, and quickly ordered Snipe not to shoot.

"Oh! I-is that you, Kellam? When did you arrive?" Chrom asked.

" ...The same time as you. I've been with you all along. Er, I AM still a Shepherd, right? It's quite the honor, after all. I'd hate to lose it. Sometimes I—" he rambled worriedly.

"Of course, Kellam. Forgive me." Chrom apologized. "You're just so...quiet, I completely—"

"Quite all right, sir, quite all right. I've been told I'm easy to miss." Kellam assured him.

"Well, it is still fortunate that the enemy didn't spot you." Virion noted.

"I've been calling to you and waving my arms for several minutes... I don't think they've so much as glanced this way." Kellam revealed.

"Uh, almost sound like you're disappointed by that." Snipe said, noting Kellam's tone.

"Well, I just... I'm glad you finally saw me! Just try to keep an eye out from now on?" he quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, let's get moving, and be on your guard, James said that there were lots of archers this way.

"Well, they will find that they are no match, for I, the archest of archers." Virion boasted.

"Oh, yeah, well good luck when you have to move into their range and I don't," Snipe boasted back.

"Hm, and what it that supposed to mean?" Virion questioned with a mocking tone.

"Simple, my weapon has a longer range, more power, and even if they do get a hit on me, I'm better protected." he emphasized this by beating his hand against his chest plate.

"Well then, I see a contest is in order, whoever can subdue more enemies is the Shepherd's greatest marksman." Virion proposed.

"Seems easy enough, you're on." Snipe agreed and of course, made sure to shake on to make sure they adhere to the bet.

No more than a minute after they had shook hands did an arrow fly out of a nearby forest, striking Kellam's armor and breaking in two, doing no damage to the knight at all.

This was quickly followed up by an enemy lancer who was quickly incapacitated by Chrom. This was met with a rain of arrows from the forest.

"Captain, stay behind Kellam, their arrows can't piearce his armor!" Snipe advised. "And Virion, behind me! Like I said, I'm better protected than you are!" Both followed his advice, though Virion was reluctant.

As it stood, Snipe and Virion did the bulk of the fighting, with Kellam throwing a Javelin at a closer target every once in awhile.

As they continued to fight off the seemingly endless horde of enemies, Snipe began to slow down, something Virion noticed right away. "Mon anami, the mark on your chest plate is nearly empty." Virion pointed out, referring to his rider gauge.

"What, this is no problem, I can keep going for… for hours." Snipe assured shakily. Virion frown heavily at this, he knew when someone was lying to him. As he watched another arrow fly towards Snipe, he knew what he had to do.

In order to save his comrade, he threw himself in front of the arrow which wasted no time embedding itself in his back."W-Why?" was all Snipe could say.

"Because, no man is useless, except a dead man." Virion proclaimed, though his attempts to sound poetic where hindered by the massive blood loss and hemoptysis. He shortly there after collapsed on the ground.

"Chrom!, Virion needs medical attention now!" Snipe yelled at his captain with a fiery passion in his voice and in his heart. "Kellam and I can handle this, GO!" wordlessly, Chrom obliged and rushed Virion to Lissa for care.

Snipe quickly shot a nearby barrel and threw the orange energy item at Kellam.

 _ **Chōhatsu!**_

Suddenly, all of the enemies stopped firing on anyone but Kellam, who remained unharmed. "Uh, why are they only attacking me when they can't hurt me?" Kellam asked, more confused than anything.

"Because, as far as combat is concerned, they can't see anyone but you." Snipe responded before further explaining. "I needed them to stop shooting me so that I could do this.

Mission Phase 2" he declared as he pulled open his driver.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting!**_

 _ **Zu Kyūn!**_

He switched the gashacon magnum into rifle mode and loaded in his gashat.

 _ **BangBang Critical Finish!**_

He dropped onto his belly and carefully took aim at every one of the Feroxi archers and locked on, he than adjusted his aim only slightly to avoid killing their future friends. He then fired a massive barrage of green energy shots that exploded on impact, knocking out the entire enemy force.

As Snipe laid on the ground, looking at what he had accomplished, he didn't seem to notice as his transformation gave out, revealing light cuts all across his body, staining his clothes red. "Haha!, I guess I really am the Shepherds' best marksman!" he proudly proclaimed before passing out, leaving Kellam to rush him to medical care as well, but not before picking up a key off of one of the Feroxi soldiers.

* * *

As Brave walked eastward with her notably larger group she couldn't help but wonder why there was such a difference in size, before she could voice her questions, she was asked one.

"Excuse me, but can explain how exactly you were able to don this strange armor?" It was Miriel who posed the question.

"Oh, well I don't really know the technical specifics, but I know that it requires a Gamer Driver and more importantly, a Rider gashat." Brave explained while pointing at the relevant objects.

"Then these are the only requirements?" Miriel inquired, it was around this point that Brave noticed that she was taking notes.

"Well, no, there is one other thing, you have to be immune to the negative effects. And while I don't know exactly how it's done, but I know we don't have what we need to give someone that immunity." She explained.

"I see and what would be necessary to-" Miriel started before being interrupted by Frederick.

"We're to meet with the enemy any moment now" he declared firmly, as sure enough in a just a few seconds, they were beset upon by a large group of lancers.

 **Gashacon Sword!**

Brave was able to help keep them in one place by using her sword to repeatedly melt and refreeze the snow, resulting in sheets of ice that posed no threat to Miriel and Sumia. Unfortunately, no caught a swordsman who was coming up behind Brave.

Brave was caught off guard when she was struck from behind, however, that swordsman was quickly taken down by Vaike and Miriel.

Shortly afterwards, they retrieved a key from one of the down troops. "Alright, now we just need to wait for the signal to head up top and finish this." Brave stated as she prepared to storm the top of the fortress.

"Proceeding with level 2"

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle Quest!**_

* * *

Standing atop the tallest portion of the fort, Ex-aid looked as if he just had a profound realization, but instead he just kicked Lazer in the gut. Lazer responded in turn by grabbing Ex-Aid by the leg and using it to flip him flat on his face.

He was met by Ex-Aid sliding on the ground to hit his knees, causing him to fall to the ground. They both quickly got to their feet and continued to fight for several minutes without either gaining the upper hand.

Things changed ever so slightly when Chrom and Snipe appeared to the west, followed by Lissa and the rest of the Shepherds appeared to east, led by Brave.

Lazer rushed Ex-Aid and, opened his driver.

"What?" was all he could asked before he was unexpectedly transformed.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!**_

When a Rider levels up, it causes them to face in the opposite direction, normally this isn't really much of a problem as they just turn around. However, it does become a problem when you aren't expecting it.

As soon as Ex-Aid's level 2 body formed, Lazer grabbed him by the arms and pulled them back to keep him from doing anything.

* * *

As the shepherds stormed the top of the fortress, they were met with little resistance as the heavily armored knights were at a notable disadvantage to Miriel's magic, which bypassed their armor all together and Chrom, who carried a rapier for the precise task of taking on armored opponents.

The other enemy troops were quickly handled by the other Shepherds, particularly Snipe was putting in a lot of hard work, though some of their comrades, Brave especially, noticed that Lissa was staying very close to him.

Snipe and Brave flanked Raimi as Chrom faced her head on.

* * *

As Lazer tried to hold Ex-Aid in place, he became decidedly more nervous when Ex-Aid started to laugh. "Really, man?" He asked jovially, "have you really forgotten that one move that my counterpart has in Ganbarizing." he said mockingly. Lazer tried to let go of Ex-Aid and dodge, but it was too late.

A bright yellow flash came from the faceplate on Ex-Aid's back, blowing Lazer back several feet. "Pachi Pachi Eye Beam!" Ex-Aid shouted enthusiastically.

"Alright, fine, I guess I can go all out, 2nd gear." Lazer proclaimed before opening his driver.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Bakusou Dokusou Gekisou Bousou Bakusou Bike!**_

As the energy screen moved over him, he transformed, into a bike. A Honda CRF250L if Ex-Aid remembered correctly. "Hey, Hey you there." he called out to a nearby, nearly unconscious Feroxi, who looked around confused for a few seconds before laying his eyes on the motorcycle, not quite sure what to make of it.

"Hey, I know that I'm a weird looking thing, but I'm still your commander, so come over here." Lazer barked at him. He nearly panicked but still did as he was told. "Okay, move the yellow thing on my back to the holder on my side." the confused soldier continued to obey the talking bike. "Now press the button twice and stand back." again, he was obeyed.

As Lazer was going through so much trouble, Ex-Aid went ahead and prepared his own finisher.

 _ **Bakusou, Mighty… Critical Strike!**_

Lazer charged at Ex-Aid at full force, who countered in turn with a roundhouse kick. When the two finishers connected, there was a small explosion that knock both riders back and cancelled out their transformations.

* * *

As Chrom and Raimi squared off, "Let our battle sound out the truth of your words!" she shouted out as she charged Chrom, who barely managed to deflect her lance with the armor on his shoulder while stabbing her in the side with his rapier.

Chrom made a silent gesture to Brave, who threw him the gashacon sword and Taddle Quest gashat, undoing her transformation."I will not fail!" he proclaimed as he inserted the gashat into the sword.

 _ **Taddle Critical Finish!**_

The sword was wrapped in flames as jumped into the air a spun around, shooting out fire in a wheel with Chrom in the center and Raimi in the way. The force of the flames knocked Raimi back causing her to land flat on her back, unable to continue fighting.

"Then your claims were...true..." she muttered before slipping into uncounousness.

* * *

Shortly afterwards after both Raimi and Lazer had recovered, Lazer revealed himself to be Yume's brother Daiki, a fact which surprised both the Shepherds and Raimi, but didn't phase the Riders at all. Afterall, they obviously recognized their good friend.

"A thousand apologies, Prince Chrom. I truly took you for brigand impostors. But no frauds could ever wage a battle as you just have! I will send word of your arrival to the capital and escort you there personally." Raimi declared to Chrom and the Shepherds.

"That would be most appreciated, thank you." Chrom replied politely.

Raimi than left to take care of the arrangements.

"Wow, she's like an entirely different person." John commented.

"In Ferox, strength speaks louder than words. You should have known better than to think you could just talk your way into an alliance." Daiki said.

"So can we get going, Chrom?" Lissa requested.

"Yes, it's not getting any warmer." he informed his sister.

"Oh, yeah come to think of it, I should be going soon. Boss is gonna want to hear about this, so I'm gonna go get my associate Olivia and go." Daiki declared, though the mention of a girl put a wide smile on John's and a small scoul on Yume's.

And with all said and done, they made their way inside for shelter and warm food.

 _ **Game Clear!**_

 **Next Time:** **第１外伝僕は** **WEAKLING** **いる**

 _ **Paralogue 1: I am a WEAKLING/Sickle to Sword**_

* * *

 **A/N: So this, very pleasantly took** _ **much**_ **less time to write than the last one, and it's also one of the longest things I've ever written, clocking in a 13 pages and more than 4000 words! I am so happy that I was able to get things done so much faster and I have all of you to thank for that, if not for you guys, I wouldn't be a fraction as motivated as I am to continue this. So, we now have all four main riders and Lazer works for Ferox, ultimately not a big thing, but I felt that it adds variety. Also, next chapter is out first paralogue, and the first chapter which Japanese name is significantly different from the English one. So, I'm looking forward to my first side-chapter which will more character focused than the main story, speaking of, I would just like to say that I am planning releasing the Xenologues in the form of full seperate, but still canon stories on the site if you don't want to sit through the DLC chapters. Wow, this is a long author's note so this is Time-Space lord Eon saying,** _ **See you next Game.**_


	6. Paralouge 1: Sickle to Sword

**第１外伝** **:** **オイラは** **WEAKLING** **いる**

 _ **Paralogue 1: I am a WEAKLING/Sickle to Sword**_

Upon actually arriving in Ferox, the Shepherds were disappointed to hear that it would take several days for the khan to arrive, which left them with several days to themselves.

John was training as had become usual, he was working to improve his accuracy. "6 out of 10 at 400 meters, I still need to improve," he berated himself, he still wasn't good enough.

"Are you sure? That seems just fine with your up-close and personal approach to ranged combat." John turned around to find Virion with a large bandage over his torso and his bow in his hand.

"Hey, are you sure you should be moving around?" John asked as he tried to help Virion stand.

"I assure you, despite appearances, I am perfectly fit." He insisted as he pushed John off. His attempts at provado were hindered by an obvious limp.

"Ya'know that if you push yourself to hard you'll just get hurt." John commented as he returned to his target practice.

"Hah!, one such as myself knows their limits perfectly." he proclaimed while trying, and failing to draw back on his bow. Every time he tried, he would flinch because of his wounds. "Though it would appear to be difficult to even reach my limits today." he sighed as he lifted his bow to try again.

"Hey, man, there's no shame in taking a day to rest." John encouraged as he continued to practice with his magnum.

"No, I mustn't let anyone call Virion of Rosanne, a coward!" he snapped back as he actually managed to let loose a shot which hit its target dead on.

"Whatever man; just know that I'm definitely not calling you a coward." John said, having given up on getting Virion to take easy. They spent the rest of the day training and comparing notes on how John could improve.

* * *

While James enjoyed browsing through the Feroxi library, today he was there for something else. As he searched through the library, he found Sumia looking through her things for something.

"Looking for this?" Sumia turned around to find James holding up the book that she had left behind in Ylisstol. "You left it behind last time we talked and this is the first good time I've had to return it." In truth there had been a couple other moments but he had his reasons for waiting.

"Oh thank you, I was really enjoying that one." She said as she took the book back and quickly checked that her bookmark was still in the right place.

"I'll be honest though, I did decide to read it for myself, it's better than I expected." The man admitted as he took a seat. "I'll admit, romance isn't really my thing and the pacing could use some work, I mean, come on, just tell him already, but I still enjoyed it."

"That's good, I really enjoy being able to discuss books with others." The pegasus knight admitted as she pulled out a different book from her bag. "I've just finished reading Ribald Tales of the Faith War."

"Huh, never heard of it, I assume it's a novel." He inferred from looking at the book's cover.

"Yes. It's roughly based on historical events, but all the characters are made up. And there's lots of... Well, ribald parts. But I suppose that's obvious." She explained as James simply nodded, not wanting to point out that he didn't know what 'ribald' meant.

"Of course." he replied completely straight faced.

"Do you like novels, James? Or are you more of a nonfiction type?" she asked the tactician as she put her books back in her bag.

"I prefer novels, but since I joined the Shepherds, I've been reading a lot of history."

"Oh, I just LOVE a good novel! I get so caught up in them I sometimes forget my own sad little life. I can pretend to be a knight in shiny armor! ...Or maybe an evil mage!" her ramblings were than followed up by a bout of maniacal laughter.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. On top of that, I always feel a bit sad when I finish a good book." he admitted as he reminisced about the Harry Potter books and how he cried when there was nothing left to read.

"Oh, I know. Then it's back to reality for Sumia! Back to sad, sad reality…" she started looking down with a distraught face, before James could say anything, she suddenly snapped back up. "Er, but then I think about the next story and get excited all over again!" At this point, James was just a little unnerved by her sudden shift in expressions.

"So, uh what are you reading now?" he asked nervously.

"Mad Tales of a Bloodthirsty Falcon Knight"! ...Volume one. Of thirty-seven."

"Oh, well… I hope you enjoy it." he said before quickly making his exit.

* * *

As the days rolled by waiting for the kahn to arrive, Yume was training as usual. Today she was receiving instruction from Frederick.

Yume tried to strike Frederick in the head with her wooden training sword, only to have it snap in half before it could even reach him. She was shocked when she noticed Frederick was picking the remains of her sword off the ground.

"H-How did you do that?"

"Years of practice." he replied simply as he retrieved a new training sword.

"I see, that's very impressive" she said in a mix of amazement and intimidation.

"Not at all, I must stay in top condition at all times if I am to be of use to lord Chrom." He said dismissively as they resumed sparing.

"That's amazing, I hope that I can be more like you someday." She responded quietly before diving back into their sparring match with a renewed determination.

* * *

A few days later, Chrom was patrolling south of the Feroxi border with Vaike, John, and Kellam. They had decided that rather than sit on their hands all day waiting for the khan, that they would do what they could to help the people of Ylisse.

As the marched, they saw a young man running towards them. He was wearing blue clothes with a pot on his head.

"Halp!" he called out as he ran towards the shepherds. He dropped to his knees "You gots to help us! I'm beggin' you, milords!" he begged as John's attention turned towards a much larger man running towards them.

 **Gashacon Magnum!**

Despite the weapon's loud activation sound, no-one seemed to notice, maybe it wasn't really as loud as it seemed. John shrugged off the question as he eyed the approaching man.

"Slow down. What happened?" Chrom questioned as John saw the approaching man ready an axe.

"Oy! There's the wee piglet!" The man shouted as he reached them.

"…Great. Bandits." Chrom groaned, more annoyed than anything.

"What's this? A little lording come to watch over his chattel? Haw ha—Aw, damn me! Sh-Shep—" he was cut off by John shooting in the head, killing him instantly.

"So, kid, mind telling us what happened?" John asked the young man who for a moment merely stared at John's weapon.

"Y-yes, milord! Right away, milord! …Er, if it please Your Graciousness." he stuttered, bowing to John.

"Hey, he's the lord here, not me." John pointed at Chrom. "All I did was kill… a bandit." he explained, notably flinching when he mentioned the bandit's fate. "Anyway, what's your name?" he asked in an attempt to change to subject.

"Donny. Er, that is, Donnel. …Your Majestyful." he was bowed to Chrom this time. "I live in the village just beyond, sir." he pointed to a nearby hill, presumably the village was behind it.

"I guess that'll do. Now, what happened?" Chrom continued to press.

" That rotten-toothed, pig-stinkin' bandit you just took care of attacked us! Er, pardon my language, You Lordliness." John had to cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing at Donnel's idea of harsh language. "I'm the only one what got away, and even then just barely. They were roundin' up others to haul 'em off to a bandit camp… Please, sir! You gots to save them folks! My ma's one of 'em, and… She's all I got in this world! Please, Your Royal Highness!" Donnel fell to his knees as he begged.

John got down on his knees and put a hand on Donny's shoulder. "It's okay, we're gonna get everyone back, you hear me?" the young farmer nodded.

"Aw, thank you,thank you!" The farm boy cried.

John stood and turned to his companions "Let's go."

* * *

Meanwhile a scout was returning to the bandit's hideout. "…And you're sure a'this?" the bandit leader, a large man named Roddick, asked his scout.

"On the grave of my sainted mother, I swear it. It was Chrom and his Shepherds, and no mistake! They even killed Kenneth." the scout cried as his boss sat down for a meal.

"Heh heh heh. A fancy lord'll fetch a high ransom from noble folk. We'll have the little man squealin' for mercy in no time!" he laughed, completely ignoring the idea of the Shepherds being a threat.

As he was laughing to himself, his men brought in a middle-aged woman who was the village's de facto leader. "We got nothin' left to take, sirs! Please, let our children go!" she begged on her knees.

"Quit yer bleatin'!" the bandit leader shot back before returning to his dinner.

"Oy, Roddick! I think this cow's the mum of the brat what ran away." One of the guards noticed, this prompted Roddick to actually look up.

"…Say, I know this one." he noted as he rose from his seat, towering over everyone around him. "You're the wife of the man what broke my rib last time we were 'ere." he stood over the woman as he face was a mix of rage and delight.

"And you killed him for it, monster! I wish he'd done for you first…" She rose up, her fear forgotten for but a moment.

Roddick laughed at her bravery. "Small wonder the brat's got more brass than brains if you're his mum. Guess we'll see for ourselves when we catch him, eh? Maybe we'll even make ya watch as we gut him!" Roddick's laughter grew as he gave his grim declaration.

"N-no! Please, he's just a boy!" She shrunk back again as she was filled with fear for her son's life.

* * *

Not much later, just after sunset, Donnel brought the shepherds to an abandoned castle. "This here's where they've taken up camp, Your Lordshipness." He pointed the castle.

"Er…right. Thanks, Donny. Stay close, now." Chrom instructed as he and the rest of the Shepherds prepared their weapons.

"Beg pardon, milord? You don't mean…? I…I can't fight, sir! I ain't never even stuck a pig before!" Donnel stumbled back in surprise.

"It's ok, if you don't want to fight, than you've all we need from you." John put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You can just find somewhere safe to hide and wait for us."

"I wish I was strong as you sirs! Kick that scum out single handed, I would!" the farmer proclaimed with stars in his eyes.

"If you want to protect everyone, than fight and get stronger." John said simply, folding his arms in an attempt to look impressive.

"But I ain't—" Donny tried to protest before being cut off.

"A warrior?" John gave a questioning look. "Me neither, until a month ago, I was a dairy farmer." he couldn't help but grin at Donny's shocked expression. "Besides, these bandits ain't much more than vermin who steal crops and destroy our livelihoods. That's why I don't treat them any better than rats."

Ngh… *sniff* A-all right." Donnel struggled to pull himself together. "As you say, I'm no warrior. But these're my people. I gots to do what I can!" he declared with a fire burning bright in his soul.

"Everyone in place?" Chrom asked his men.

"R-ready! *ulp*" Donnel declared as the moved into position.

 _ **Bang Bang Shooting!**_

"Henshin, level 2" he declared as he inserted his gashat and opened the driver right away.

 _ **Gashatto! Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting!**_

He tapped his icon like normal and it passed over him at the same time as the projection for his level 2 form.

Before Donnel could express his surprise at the transformation, lightning arced across his body.

"Raghhhh!" he cried as he felled to his knees, his rider gauge drained by nearly sixty percent. "Okay, gotta tell the others, don't go straight to level 2, not yet." he struggled for a moment to stand. Once he was back on his feet, he turned to Donny…

 **Gashacon Magnum!**

… and handed him his gun. "Ok, kid, the first thing you need to know is that you point that at the bandit and pull the trigger." Snipe then proceeded to give Donny a through safety walkthrough of the magnum.

 **Gashacon Bugvisor!**

He mounted the purple weapon on his arm, the chainsaw pointing inward. He turned to his fellow Shepherds, "I'll keep an eye on Donny and we'll find the boss while you guys find the captured villagers."

Snipe and Donnel moved towards the fortress, coming across a pair of bandits. Snipe raised his bugvisor and killed one of them in a single shot, whereas it took a couple shots for Donny to take down his target.

They continued to move down the halls, cutting down any bandits who try to stop them. Until they came to what appeared to be a throne room, in which was a tall, broad man with a psycotic smile on his face. "Time them castle whelps learned what us wild-born men can do!" he called out to his band of bandits as he readyed his axe

* * *

Vaike was admiring a key he swiped from a thief they ran into on the way. As they made their way through the western wing of the castle were met by more and more guards, until eventually they came to a room with a large cage containing the captured villagers. There was a single guard who charged the moment he saw the shepherds.

The bandit swung his sword done at Vaike, who blocked with his axe. The bandit pushed down, allowing his sword to sink into Vaike's shoulder as the warrior tried desperately to fight back. Just as Vaike neared his breaking point, the pressure from the sword lightened. Vaike looked to see why and was greeted with Chrom's Falchion protruding from the guard's stomach.

After Chrom removed his sword and allowed the bandit's body to drop to the ground, Vaike got to work rounding up the stolen goods while Chrom went up to the cage. It had a highly intricate lock, the key to which was probably with the bandit leader. Chrom smashed the lock with the handle of his sword.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked the captive as the made their way out of the cage.

"We're fine your lordship." a woman answered in the same accent as Donnel. "I'm just worried 'bout my boy, Donny." Chrom eyes snapped open when he heard the name.

* * *

The moment the bandit leader called out, Donnel froze. He froze because he recognized this monster, he was the one who killed his father. This brief pause was enough to give Roddick the chance to throw his axe his way. Donnel's story would have ended here, had Snipe not jumped in the way. The green rider was knocked back to a nearby wall, the axe even breaking of a chunk of his chestplate.

When Snipe was sent flying, the magnum was knocked out of Donnel's hand. As Roddick retrieved his axe from Snipe's chest via a cable on the handle.

"Raaagh!" Snipe cried as the axe was ripped from his chest, bringing a fair amount of blood with it, causing the rider gauge to lower to its lowest point, causing it produce a rather annoying beeping.

Seeing the seemingly invincible Rider be beaten like that filled Donnel with fear. Fear gave way to anger, and anger gave way to hate. Donnel raised a makeshift spear that he had brought to fight the bandit's in the first place and charged Roddick.

"Gaaah!" Roddick screamed as Donnel jabbed he lance into the bandit's side, be he did not fall. "Damn you, you little pest!" Roddick roared as he swung his axe at Donnel's head, only for it to stop short.

"Hey, Donny, in a situation like this, you've really got to stay level headed." Kellam advised, shocking the both Donnel and Roddick as he seemed to come from nowhere.

"Kellam, Donny, MOVE!" Snipe hollered as he slotted Bang Bang Shooting into the bugvisor. It's blaster ends glowed green as he took aim. "Bang Bang Dark Burst!" he fired a rapid fire barrage of high power energy blasts. Just afterwards, Snipe's armor disappeared, causing him to pass out from blood loss.

"Gahaugh! Nngh...This ain't...where…" Roddick groaned as the light left his eyes and he fell like a great oak.

Acting fast, Kellam gave him the last of a Vulnerary he was carrying. Shortly after ingesting the magical medicine, John stopped bleeding and regained consciousness. "Y'know I think I should get my own suit of armor." he mused as his allies helped him to his feet.

* * *

After the Shepherds had retrieved and returned all the stolen goods, save for a few old weapons that the villagers weren't going to use and Roddick was dead, they headed to meet with the villagers.

"We did it! We're rid of them bandits for good and all!" Donnel cheered as the walked.

"Yeah, you did pretty good kid, considering it was your first fight," John congratulated the younger man.

As the walked, someone caught Donny's eye, "Ma! Ma, it's me!" he ran into his mother's open arms.

" Oh, Donny! Thank goodness you're safe! I was worried near to death, boy!" She both rejoiced and chided. They than both turned to the Shepherds, "I can't thank you enough for savin' my son and our village, milord." she said as she bowed, before turning her head to Donnel. "Donny! Where are your manners?! Take a knee and thank His Lordness!" Startled, the young man did so.

" Er, I can't begin to repay all what you done for us, sir! Th-thank you!" he rejoiced before John waved his hand dismissively.

"Hey, you did more work than I did, all I did was give a proper weapon and take a hit for you." he replied with a big smile. "I mean, the way you speared that dastard without a second thought, I think that, if you keep getting stronger, your village will be just fine." He and the other Shepherds turned to leave.

"W-wait! Please!" Donny called out to the Shepherds, prompting them to turn back.

"Something Wrong?" Chrom asked while John couldn't help but smile as he knew what was going on.

"I has a request, sir. If it please Your Graceliness… Take me with you, milord! Lemme be a Shepherd like you! I'm good with livestock, I am! Please, sir!" Donnel pleaded, down on all fours.

"Hush now, you fool boy!" His mother snapped at him the moment he made a request.

"I want to get stronger. I want to keep this place safe! I never thought I was good for nothin' more than shovelin' dirt… But y'all showed me there's more I can do. More I needs to be doing!" he rose to his feet, a fire burning in his heart.

"You needs be knowin' your place, boy! A farmhand's no fit for a royal—" She started to shout at him.

"Hey, he'd be great. I mean, we're always looking for good people to join and Donnel is a great person." he interrupted with a joyful expression.

"Y-you're very kind to say as much, Your Lordshipness, but…" she tried to argue before giving a loud sigh upon realizing something important. "Well, you're a man grown now, Donny. I s'pose you can make up your own mind." she conceded, fighting back tears.

"Aw, Ma." was all Donny was could say as tears began to form in his eyes.

Donnel's mother remained quiet for several seconds before she could bring herself to speak. "You just come home safe, love. I'll see that the village is still standin' when you return a hero." she tried to sound firm, but her voice wavered more and more with each word. Well?! Off with you, then! Glory's waiting', boy!" She yelled as tears streamed down her eyes.

"I ain't fightin' for glory, Ma. I'm fightin' for you! But if I do find some glory, I'll be sure to bring it home for you!" He declared with a big wide smile.

"Just come home alive, Donny." she whispered as the Shepherds, Donny in tow went off to rejoin the rest at the Longfort.

"He will, I'll make sure of it." John whispered back as they walked away, determined to ensure that he wasn't just leading a young man to the Reaper's open arms.

* * *

 **Aw man, I thought I would have this done a week ago! I am sorry for how long this took. I had to rewrite this entire chapter more than once to ensure quality. Either way, here we have a John-centric chapter, and don't worry, him being beaten within an inch of his life is not meant to be a recurring thing. And before anyone asks, the only reason Roddick did as much damage as he was that it was a Critical Hit on a weakened enemy. Also, I'm going to take a break from this story and start a secondary project to work on just so I don't lose my mind, I'll post that story, hopefully by this time next week. So, until then, this is Time-Space lord Eon saying** _ **SEE YOU NEXT GAME!**_


	7. Chapter 4: 2 Falchions

第4章:DIVINE SWORD 闘技

Chapter 4: Divine Sword Competition / 2 Falchions

With another few days until the Khan arrived, Miriel decided to meet with their tactician. She was not only curious about his plans involving the Khan, but the technology that allows his transformation. When she arrived in his tent, however what she saw surprised her. Rather than studying politics as she expected, he was studying his Gamer Driver.

He was carefully observing and sketching every little detail he could see. Miriel was intrigued, and thought to ask what he was doing.

"I'm trying to learn how to recreate it.." he answered the question she hadn't asked yet. She was taken aback by his seeming precognition. "You were standing in my door for a good five minutes watching me sketch this thing."

"Of course," she responded matter-of factly.

"Well, since you're here I may as well let you in my plan." he stated causally.

"And what does this plan entail?" she questioned, her curiosity still rising.

"To use the technology in this thing to make games."

"How so?" Miriel leaned closer trying to understand his meaning.

In response, James pulled Mighty Action X from his pocket. "It may not look it, but this device carries the data for a game. The Gamer Driver only has the power to use that data for our transformations, so I want to make something that can play the games in their entirety."

"I see," Miriel, who was now taking notes, nodded.

"I've still got a ways to go," James leaned back and took a deep breath before he suddenly sat straight up. "It's your turn to cook, and dinner is in an hour." he pointed out.

Miriel mentally scolded herself for forgetting. "You're correct, I must go." she showed herself out.

Now alone in his tent, James looked at Mighty Action X more closely as he retrieved the other one. "Maybe I should look more into how you two work?"

* * *

Roughly an hour later, Yume reached the infirmary, a bowl of soup in hand. "Hey, John, I brought tomato soup, your favorite." she called out in a motherly voice.

"Don't treat me like a little kid." John frowned from his bed. He was still in pretty bad shape from his fight with the bandits.

"I will when you stop getting beaten to a pulp." she shot back with a smile.

"Shut up, and give me that soup." John pouted.

After giving him his soup, Yume pulled up a chair and started eating her own.

"Hey, Yume." John caught her attention. "Just so you know, I'm only in here because I went straight to level 2." This caught Yume's attention, she hadn't heard anything about that. John noticed her surprise, "Yeah, knocked my gauge down by half," Yume went pale, it was that dangerous?

"I'll be sure to warn James," she said solemnly. Once she finished her dinner and went to find James, he appeared in the doorway.

"Chrom needs us in the Longfort's main hall," he announced and left right away.

Yume could only sigh before helping John get up on his feet, "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

Raimi had gathered all the Shepherds to what appeared to be a throne room. "Prince Chrom, please wait here while I summon the Khan,"

"Of course." Chrom replied before Raimi took her leave.

"So, where is the Khan?" John asked, annoyed that he was pulled across the living quarters on crutches.

"Out training, I'd wager. The Khans of Ferox prefer battle to politics. Or rather, battle IS their politics." Chrom noted as he adjusted his armor to look better.

"So the Khan's a warrior eh?" James asked as he took a seat. "Probably huge, pristling with muscles and hair." He snickered at the mental image.

"Am I now? Please go on," a voice, unmistakably feminine called out.

Everyone turned to see a dark-skinned blonde covered in red and silver armor.

"Shorter than I expected." James shrugged.

" You're the—?! Er, that is to say... The Khan, I presume?" Chrom fumbled his words in an obvious attempt to make a good impression.

The woman turned her full attention to Chrom. "One of them, yes—the East-Khan. My name is Flavia. I apologize for the troubles at the border, Prince Chrom. You are welcome in Regna Ferox." Chrom remained visibly nervous.

"Thank you, but I'm confident we can put that misunderstanding behind us. Is it true bandits posing as Ylisseans have been ransacking your border villages?" Chrom bowed, using his best 'Please like me' voice.

"Yes," Flavia confirmed before her face twisted with rage. "Those Plegian dogs! We found documents proving as much on the corpse of one of their captains. Plegia must see some benefit in raising tensions between your kingdom and ours." This caught James's attention, with the provided evidence he could only see one way Plegia wanted it to play out.

First they 'subtly' increase tensions between the the two nations, enough to cause a war. It didn't matter who won, because the winner would be down on soldiers, supplies, and morale, which plegia would have in abundance. The following war would be a sure-fire win for Plegia, giving them near total dominance over however much of the continent they could keep hold of.

"Damn them!" Chrom shouted until he realized that he wasn't being very diplomatic. "I... Forgive me, Your Grace. That was...indelicately put." he quickly apologized.

Flavia laughed, "Damn them and damn delicacy! Here in Ferox, we appreciate plain speech." As soon as she said that, Chrom became visibly more relaxed.

"In that case, you should have a word with your damn border guards…" he remark as he settled into a more comfortable position.

Flavia burst out laughing. "Now that's Feroxi diplomacy! Yes, I like you already." her face suddenly went serious, "I know why you have come, Prince. But regrettably, I cannot provide any Feroxi troops for Ylisse." Chrom's face was filled with distress.

"What!? why not!?" Lissa asked in a panicking voice.

"I lack the authority." Flavia stated plainly.

"If you don't have the power, who does?" James asked, bringing himself to the center of the room, standing shoulder to shoulder with Chrom. "You mentioned that you where the East Khan, so I presume that the power is with a different Khan?"

"Yes, In Ferox, the Khans of east and west hold a tournament every few years. The victor acquires total sovereignty over both kingdoms. And that means they have the final say when it comes to forging alliances. The West-Khan won the last tournament, you see, and so…" The Warrior ruler explained.

"When's the tournament?" James asked bluntly.

"Soon," She responded with a smile as she realized what he was implying. "The captain of my border guard informs me your Shepherds are quite capable. Are you perhaps considering representing the East in the upcoming tournament? If you win and I become ruling Khan, I will grant your alliance." she stated with an ever growing smile.

"I'm not sure that we really have a place in all this," Yume noted from the back of the group.

Once again Flavia let out a jovial laugh. "On the contrary. The Khans themselves do not fight—they choose champions to represent them. Otherwise our land would be rife with blood feuds and dead Khans! We don't involve comrades or kin for the same reason. Over time, it was decided the tournament should be fought by outsiders. Although the outsiders have never included foreign royalty. ...That I know of!" She laughed at the thought. "Regardless, it is your choice to make."

Chrom stepped forward, "There is no choice, East-Khan. My people are desperate. We face not only Plegia's constant attacks, but now the added threat of the Risen. If fighting for you is the quickest way to an alliance, then we will take up our steel." He spoke with unshakable resolve.

Flavia let out a heart laugh. "Oh, I like you, Prince Chrom. I do hope you survive the tournament! Come, I'll show you the arena where the tournament is held. But be wary! I hear an equally able swordsman champions the West-Khan." she warned, well aware it won't change anything.

"He shall be defeated by Ylisse's necessity." Chrom replied, he face as stern as stone.

"Well spoken again—I look forward to seeing if you're equally skilled with a blade!" From there, everyone began the journey to the arena in the center of the country.

* * *

Several days later as they approached the arena. James went over to John, "Hey, man."

John, off his crutches but still walking slower, turned to his friend, "yeah?"

James took a deep breath, "I need to know if you're good for combat," the tactician asked his friend.

"Lissa should've already told weather or not I'm good to go." He responded nonchalauntly.

"Oh, I know you've healed enough to fight," he remarked, earning a look of confusion from John,

"I want to know if _you're_ ready to fight."

John sighed and looked down at his feet, "no, for now I want to avoid combat, ever since we got here, it feels like I've been doing nothing but killing and never once objected. I think I need a time to work out all this stuff on an emotional level." he looked back up to James who had a warm smile.

"Ok," it was all he said, but it was also all he needed to say. John nodded, tears forming in his eyes as James went forward to meet with someone else.

* * *

There was a town coming into view. The even from the distance, they could already see the massive arena. Seeing it put a knot in Yume's stomach, she was worried about what might happen when they get there. "Daiki will be fine." Yume turned around to find James coming up to the front of the group with her. "Even if he is fighting for the west Khan we just have to beat him without killing him."

Yume pouted, "Easy for you to say,"

"Yes, it is easier to say that, while I've always thought of Daiki as more than just a friend, you're the only family he has in this world." He slowed to match her pace. "Of course, it seems like Daiki has made at least a couple new friends, like that lady, Olivia, I think." Yume's face went red, provoking a chuckle from James.

"On a not-entirely-unrelated note, if we found a way back to our world right after the tournament, would you take it?" Yume stumbled for a bit.

"If you asked me before John recruited Donny, I'd would've said yes without hesitation, but after meeting the kid, I don't know." She admitted.

"He was the one that showed that they aren't all that different from us, or like John and I at least, your family is stinking rich." he shrugged.

"Hey, we're not _that_ rich." she snapped back.

"Your dad gave me a house when we started dating," Yume had no response. "Though I suppose it would be fair to tell you that even if we found a way back, I'd probably choose to stay." Yume looked at him with genuine surprise.

"I've already left my mark on our old world, my game should've launched months ago. And this world is standing on a knife's edge, if I can help to keep it stable and save lives well then I've gotta do it."

Before Yume could respond, James placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for the talk, I feel alot better." he than turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

"Silly James, I'm the one that feels better."

* * *

When they came to the arena, they were greeted by a wide circular floor covered in elaborate ring-shaped artwork. The walls were made from brick, as sturdy as it was old, and when feature James noticed that Flavia seemed surprised by, was a cage hanging from a chain in the center.

* * *

When they arrived at the arena, John and Stahl, whose horse had been killed at the Longfort, made their way to a viewing area. Once there, they were met by two other people, Feroxi fighters, presumably. One of them was a woman with pink hair in garb that left very little to the imagination. The other was a tall man with a sword on his waist sitting as far away from the woman as possible. Not wanting to sit quietly for the whole time he looked over to the pink haired woman. "So, uh, what's the story behind that hanging cage?"

She visibly recoiled and she did her best to shrink into a tiny, unnoticeable ball. When that didn't work, she tried her best to answer so the strangely dressed man would stop looking at her. "L-Lord Basilio said it's supposed to be a special r-reward for the winning champion, I think D-Daiki said something about a red k-k-kaijin, I think the word was, when he heard about it."

"Huh," Was all John said as he turned away, much to the woman's relief.

* * *

When the Shepherds entered the arena, Lissa was the first to notice their opponent. "Chrom! Look!" She pointed to the swordsman at the other side of the arena.

"I see him," Chrom replied solemnly as looked upon his opponent, Marth, the masked man from the forest. Standing next to him was Daiki, already wearing his driver and with gashat in hand.

Chrom looked to his masked foe as James looked to his friend. The masked man was silent as a mouse.

"Marth! One question, before we begin?" Marth said nothing and reached for his sword. "Fine! Our swords will speak for us!"

Both drew their swords giving James and Chrom their first good look at Marth's weapon, it was perfectly identical to Chrom's which, James had read, should be impossible. "How did you get that?" the tactician pondered before turning to his own opponent.

Wasting no time, Chrom and Marth charged each other, their blades meeting over and over again, each a perfect mirror of the other. "Tell me—Who taught you to fight like that?" Chrom questioned between strikes.

"My Father!" Marth declared as he struck with enough force that Chrom was knocked back. Both lunged at each other, their swords deflecting each other, both landed on their knees. It took Chrom only a moment longer to raise to his feet, but that was more than enough time for Marth to close the gap a go for another swing of the sword.

 **Gashacon Sword!**

Yume, not even transformed yet blocked the strike. "Are you alright captain?" She asked, assuming the stance that Chrom taught her.

"Yes, I'm fine" He answered as he readied himself to continue.

"Good."

 **Taddle Quest!**

* * *

James and Daiki looked away from the other duel and from the rest of the forces fighting around the edge of the arena, the looked each other dead in the eye and prepared to fight.

 **Bakusou Bike!**

"Henshin!" he slotted in his gashat and kicked his rider icon, dropping into a fighting stance.

 _ **Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!**_

James readied his gashat, a grin forming on his face.

 **Mighty Action X!**

He moved his arm clockwise from his left until he was pointing his gashat at Lazer.

"Dai...Henshin!" he called as he slotted in his gashat and, not even waiting to properly transform before he opened the lever.

He could hear the others telling him not to do it, he knew why, he read the reports of what happened when John did this, but he didn't care. He needed level 2 to win, he'd just have to win fast.

 _ **Gashatto! Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!**_

He tapped his icon, which merged with the energy screen, letting him transform right away. As soon as he transformed, electricity arced from his Gamer Driver, just as it had with John. But, unlike Snipe, Ex-Aid didn't seem to take any damage. He raised his left arm and flicked his wrist, the electricity arced away from Ex-Aid, seemingly at his command.

* * *

"Holy— of course he can jump to level 2 just fine, but when I try it I nearly die!" John complained as his friend assumed a combat stance.

"If you cannot fight to your full power from the beginning, than you are too weak for your power." the man in the back stated clearly.

"I know that!" John called back, only staying in his seat to watch the fights. "That's why I have to be stronger than Taiga!" The other man didn't respond as John's eyes wandered to the hanging cage.

* * *

Ex-Aid had quickly gained the upper hand over Lazer, not only due to his longer arms and sword, but due to a relentless offensive. So far Lazer had only managed deal minor damage to him by using his tire-blaster. Lazer caught his lucky break when he managed to grab Ex-Aid's arm and spun at high speed.

He threw Ex-Aid threw the air, giving Lazer the chance to open fire on him with his tire-blaster. When Ex-Aid hit the ground, Lazer followed up by spinning at high speed and ramming Ex-Aid. While being thrown back, Ex-Aid managed to catch sight of John pointing at the cage.

As Lazer came back for another attack, Ex-Aid threw the Gashacon Breaker at a choco block. An energy item flew out and raced to Ex-Aid.

 **Hakkō!**

There was a bright flash, blinding nearly everyone in the arena, giving Ex-Aid the chance he needed to put distance between him and Lazer. He moved to the bulk of the shepherds, who were winning against the Feroxi troops thanks to a mix Frederick's monstrous strength and Sully's reckless charge, supported by Kellam of course. "Sumia," he called to the pegasus knight. She turned her attention to him, which would have gotten her killed if not for Kellam. He pointed to the cage, "I need your help to get up there."

Sumia nodded, "Right, climb on!" Ex-Aid leapt over her head and landed softly on the pegasus and held on tight.

Once Lazer could see again and he saw Ex-Aid heading towards the Ylissian pegasus knight, he realized what he was doing. He pointed to a pair of Feroxi soldiers and called out to them, "Hey, you two, I need to get to the cage before Pinky does!" he gestured to Ex-Aid.

One of the soldiers rushed to set up a ramp while the other went to meet Lazer as he opened the lever on his Driver.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Bakusou Dokusou Gekisou Bousou Bakusou Bike!**_

Once Lazer was a bike, the Feroxi soldier climbed on as they wheeled over to the ramp. The Feroxi soldier, having more experience with Lazer than the one at the Longfort knew just what to do.

 **Bakusou Critical Strike!**

He charged up the ramp at full speed. As he raced through the air, he saw Ex-Aid approaching on the pegasus, which thankfully took quite a bit of time to move straight up. When Ex-Aid saw Lazer flying towards the cage, he took a risk and leapt from the mount towards the cage.

Everything seemed to slow to a halt as Ex-Aid and the guy on Lazer's back reached into the cage. Ex-Aid's heart sank as he saw the Feroxi gripped the prize. However, unswayed by his foe's grip, Ex-Aid used his superior strength and speed to pull the prize from his hand.

When they landed on the ground Ex-Aid wasted no time looking at his prize: a red gashat. He turned to Lazer and made the gashat clearly visible as he activated it.

 **Gekitotsu Robots!**

As the game area loaded, instead of blocks or chests or the like, a small red robot appeared and floated around Ex-Aid. Lazer immediately undid his transformation, knocking his driver to the ground. "I surrender," Daiki said plainly, to Ex-Aid's clear annoyance.

"Oh, come on…" he said, sounding somewhat dejected.

Daiki, not wanting to upset his friend, spoke up. "I won't fight you, but I'll still watch your henshin."

Ex-Aid, excitedly nodded his head as he blew into his new gashat for luck and slotted it in. he closed the lever on the gamer driver and started excitedly posing, "Dai Dai DaiHenshin!" he reopened the lever.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X! A Gacha! Buttobase! Totsugeki! Gekitotsu Punch! Gekitotsu Robots!**_

The driver emitted the energy screen again, which was soon joined by a second, red energy screen that became a backdrop for his normal one. The robot split into several pieces, which attached onto Ex-Aid's body as armor, culminating in a large robotic fist over his right hand.

Ex-Aid giggled with delight, "So this the power of level 3."

* * *

At this point, neither Chrom nor Brave knew how long they had been fighting. They just knew that for Marth had dodged or parried everything they threw at him. "Just who is your father anyway?" Brave asked as Marth continued to leave them at a stalemate.

"I've said enough for today, ma'am." Marth said coolly.

"Whatever," She sighed. "Anyway, Lissa owes you her life and we are grateful, but we cannot lose here! Don't worry though, I'll try not embarrass you." If not for her mask, one could swear she winked.

Even from across the arena, Ex-Aid was sure that Marth turned bright pink. "Heh, never expected such youthful arrogance…" Marth muttered, almost inaudibly. "We shall see who shames who!" He declared loudly.

Marth charged at Brave, who moved to the side and used her left hand to push Marth towards Ex-Aid. Marth kept his footing and slashed at Brave, causing her body to spark and smoke.

 **Gashacon Critical Strike!**

The moment the sound was heard, Marth jumped out of the way, kicking Brave away as well. The spot where Marth was standing was almost immediately crushed by Ex-Aid's armored hand, spewing flames like a rocket.

In the second between Marth jumping away from the attack and landing, he came under assault.

 **Kōsoku-ka!**

While still in the air, Ex-Aid appeared behind him and grabbed his sword by the gap near the handle, lightly cutting into his hand. He ripped the sword from Marth's hand and jabbed his elbow into Marth's torso. When the two landed on the ground he turned and faced Marth, properly gripping his sword. Marth, who managed to land on his feet stumbled backwards at the sight of Ex-Aid's face. "N-No, stay back! No, no it's not him." if Ex-Aid reacted to Marth's words he didn't show it.

Ex-Aid tossed Marth's sword, embedding it's blade in the floor at Marth's feet. "We win," he turned and made his way to the exit. By this point, the Shepherds had taken out the Feroxi troops, leaving only Marth.

"Impressive...if not surprising…" Marth admitted before leaving the arena, confirming the Shepherd's victory.

* * *

After the battle and subsequent cheers from the crowd, the Shepherds gathered in the center of the arena. "Well fought!" Flavia congratulated, "You have my respect. And, perhaps more to the point, you have your alliance. I will provide Ylisse with the soldiers she needs."

"Truly? Thank you, East-Khan." Chrom asked, barely containing his excitement.

"I should thank you! It feels like ages since I've held full power. Come, my new friends! Tonight, we celebrate!" Flavia declared happily before leaving to plan said party.

"Bah! Any excuse for a party and Flavia jumps on it…" The Shepherds all turned to the source of the unexpected voice. He was a towering, bald, one-eyed beast of a man.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Chro, questoned, audibly nervous in the face of the massive man.

"I'm the West-Khan you so rudely removed from power!" John could be heard identifying him as Basilio. "You're handy with a sword, boy. I thought for sure I'd picked the stronger man."

Hearing a mention of the swordsman, James spoke up. "What do you know about Marth?"

Basilio scoffed. "He's just some sellsword with delusions of grandeur. All I know is that he turned up one eve and knocked my old champion flat. It was love at first sight, and I'm generally too old for such things! Baha! Anyway, he's gone now. Up and fled the moment the tournament ended."

"He's quite the enigma," Yume sighed,

"Sounds like Marth's got at least one fan," James remarked.

"Hey, I'm just saying, he's a skilled warrior and we know nothing about him," she defended, he cheeks tinted pink.

"That guy? Are kidding me?" Daiki declared as he re-entered the arena. He had ditched the fur coat, revealing a silk tunic with Lazer's symbol on the breast.

"Whatever, I don't need your approval." she stuck out her tongue at her brother.

John cleared his throat to catch the other riders' attention. "While this is a riveting discussion, us Ylissians need to go back to Ylissian need to head back to Ylisse to report the alliance."

James and Yume nodded and gestured for the other Shepherds to leave. Before they could however, Daiki raised his hand. "Before you go, my lord has a present for you." he gestured to Basilio, who in turn gestured to someone else to enter the arena. This person was in fact, the quiet man who was in the stands with John earlier.

"This is Lon'qu, my former champion. Not much for talking, mind you, but he's peerless with a sword. As good as Marth, in my mind. To be honest, I can't figure out how Marth bested him so quickly." he introduce as the champion remained silent.

"Marth beat him? But he looks so big and strong…" Lissa questioned as she approached the swordsman.

"Away woman!" he bellowed as he backed away, frightening Lissa.

"Hey! Wh-what did I say?!" the princess asked as she backed away, tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't take it personally, Lon'qu just doesn't do well around women," Daiki apologized. "Either way, the two of us will be going with you to support the cause." he added as he stepped in front of the Khan.

"Are you certain?" Chrom asked the Khan.

"Yes, their your men now." he said calmly as he pushed Daiki to the side.

"And you two, do you have any objections?"

"He gives orders. I stab people. I think our roles are clear." Lon'qu shrugged.

"I'm gonna see more action by hanging around other Riders anyway." Daiki noted.

"Alright then, welcome aboard." Chrom said with a smile before they left for Ylisse to inform the Exalt of their new allies.

 _ **Game Clear!**_

* * *

 **Alright, that's another chapter in the bag. You may have noticed that I cut some stuff of the end of Chapter 4, that's because it will be at the start of chapter 5. I meant to have this chapter out earlier, but Smash bros. Anyway, like I said on my other fic,** _ **Kamen Rider Lupin: Phantom Joker,**_ **I am asking for suggestions for other rider crossovers I could do, it doesn't have to be the main rider either, if you think an idea works better with say, Ouja or Gills, go for it. I really only have one rule, any suggestions for Amazonz has to work as a side-by-side story with regular Amazon, think of how Sonic Adventure's stories work for example. Of course, if I like an idea, I will contact you to help develop the idea and credit you for the concept.**

 **So, with that out of the way, I'll see you for the next chapter: Sidequest 1: Gekitotsu Bike! Lazer vs Gatton!** _ **See you next Game.**_


	8. Side Quest Ex: Rider King 2019

**サイドクエスト** **EX:RIDER** **王** **2019**

Side quest EX: Rider King 2019

John looked at the letter he had found in his tent. _Snipe, come to the top of the hill north of camp,alone. Bring your belt. - a fellow rider._ John did what the letter said reluctantly. If it was from another rider, it could get hairy, but if it was some bandit who thought they could take him, then he would enjoy this.

When he arrived atop the hill, he saw a young man in 21st century clothing. He was sitting on a lawn chair drinking hot chocolate. He turned to John with a smile. "Hello, Snipe." he placed his cocoa in his chair's cup holder and put the chair in his tent. "Alright, we're going to spar," he declared.

John nodded, he was suspicious of course, he wasn't an idiot. He knew he should get one of the other riders or one the Shepherds. But he couldn't bring himself to do so, he knew no one would think less of him, except maybe Lon'qu. He just couldn't do it, it would be admitting to himself that he's the weakest rider. "Alright, I'll play along, but why me? If you want to get stronger, you'd be better off with Ex-Aid." he noted as he put on his Gamer Driver.

"Because I'm not doing this to get stronger." the younger rider revealed as he placed his own belt.

 **Ziku Driver!**

It was white and oval shaped with what appeared to be a screen in the center. "I'm doing this so _you_ can get stronger." If John reacted at all, he didn't show it. The younger rider produced a circular object, turned a plate on the front and pressed the button on top.

 **Zi-O!**

He inserted the object onto a slot on the Ziku Driver's side. He pressed the button on top, causing the belt to slant.

 **Bang Bang Shooting!**

As soon as he activated the gashat, John realized why he was called up to this hill, no one would notice the game area.

The two riders shared a look at each other.

"Henshin!" both declared.

John inserted his gashat and opened the lever. He tapped his icon as he dropped into a combat stance.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting!**_

 **Gashacon Magnum!**

Snipe transformed, ignoring the lightning which did far less damage then it used to, while his opponent spun his driver counter-clockwise until it returned to its original, unslanted position.

 **Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O!**

Most of his body was black, but his torso was silver with magenta accents. His face resembled a clock, though that aspect was overshadowed by his visor, which took the form of magenta writing. 'ライダー' it read, 'Rider' as John recalled.

 **Zikan Girade!**

The Rider, Zi-O presumably, produced his own gun. Both riders opened fire, however this proved ineffective even at a range of 10 meters. Snipe was unfamiliar with enemies as agile as rider, while Zi-O seemed less experienced with his firearm in general.

 **Ken!**

Zi-O's gun turned into a sword, which he soon proved much more skilled with. He easily deflected Snipe's shots and closed the difference.

 **Gashacon Bugvisor!**

Snipe blocked a downward slash with his own bladed weapon, before firing several shots from his magnum into Zi-O's stomach. Zi-O stumbled back as his midsection smoked and sparked.

"You're pretty good, I'm gonna have to up my game." he produced another round object, which he activated.

 **Ryugen!**

He slotted it into the other side of the Ziku Driver and spun it just like before.

 **Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O! Armor Time! Hai~ Ryu~gen!**

Above Zi-O a large object resembling the helmet of a rider Snipe recognized all too well, Armored Rider Ryugen. The object was lowered onto Zi-O's head so that Ryugen's face was on Zi-O's chest. He had giant budoh Lockseeds for shoulders. Protruding from his back were mechanical arms ending in Ryugen's grape themed guns in addition to these also produced a gun that was hidden in his armor. Zi-O's form change was finished when his visor changed to read 'リュウゲン' Ryugen.

 **Zyuu!**

Converting the Zikan Girade back to gun mode, Zi-O opened fire with all four guns. "Gah!" Snipe cried as he took several direct hits before taking cover behind Zi-O's tent. He knew it would only stop him for a moment, but a moment was all he needed.

 **Chu Dōn!**

Switching the Bugvisor into gun mode, he charged. Having to bob and weave to avoid the onslaught as he fired Zi-O's mechanical arms, breaking them off rather easily, allowing he to shift his focus.

As he continued to dodge a hail of laser fire, he focused both weapons on one target and fired. By the time Zi-O realized what he was aiming for, it was too late to dodge or block it. The energy blasts hit the Ziku Driver with enough force Zi-O back to his base form.

Both riders knew this was where the fight was going to end, so as Zi-O got to his feet, Snipe readied his final attack. Unfortunately for him, so was Zi-O.

 **Bang Bang Critical Finish!**

 **W Sure Sure Shooting!**

As Snipe launched a single massive blast, Zi-O fired a wave of smaller shots the weaved around Snipe's, allowing both attacks to hit dead on.

* * *

So there they were, beaten and bruised and barely standing, both having lost there rider forms. "So uh, thanks for the spar, it was great, but why did you want me to be stronger?" he wondered as he leaned on Zi-O's shoulder.

Zi-O chuckled, "Okay, so get this, there's this prophecy or something, I don't remember, but I'm supposed to be the rider king or something, so I need all the riders to be really strong."

"Is that so?, well than, good night your majesty." John said before lazily making his way back towards camp.

"Hey, before you go, catch." John turned and caught the thing that Zi-O had thrown at him. It was the same type of object the Zi-O was to transform, except it was black and blank. When John looked to question the would be king, he was gone.

"Oh well, at least I'm stronger." he shrugged before going back to his tent.

* * *

 **Happy New Year everyone. So, I decided to do this because I wanted to do something for new years, John is my favorite rider to write, and Zi-O is perfect for this. You may have noticed that Zi-O used an armor based on an unreleased ridewatch that is unlikely to appear in the show. I did this because Zi-O was testing John by matching him at what he's good at, and none of the main riders can really do that, thus Ryugen armor. As for weather or not this is canon (if anyone even cares) I'll leave that up to you to read and find out in the future.**

 **Also with the first 'Side Quest' which are meant to be original, rider-centric chapters I have to ask, how comfortable would you all be if I strayed a bit a away from the Ex-Aid mythos both for the Side Quests and the story as a whole, don't worry this will still be an Ex-Aid story first and foremost, I'm just wondering how you guys would feel about a showa monster here, and reference there, and what have you. Any way, this is Time-Space Lord Eon saying** _ **See you next game!**_


	9. Side Quest 1: Gekitotsu Bike!

**サイドクエスト１：激突バイク！** **GATTONvs** **レーザー！**

 _Side Quest 1: Gekitotsu Bike! GATTON vs Lazer_

Several days had passed since the tournament and the Shepherds were on their way back to Ylisse. Despite the new additions, nothing had really changed among the group. They were currently moving southwards from the Feroxi border, it'd be another week at least before they reached their destination.

* * *

It was currently about half an hour to dinner time, so Sully, whose turn it was to cook was on her way to do just that. When she arrived at the kitchen tent however, she was met with quite a surprise.

"If you haven't washed your hands, stay out of my kitchen!" Sully was shocked to find John cooking in her stead.

Sully stood there for a couple seconds, dumbfounded. "You know I'm supposed to be cooking right?"

John shrugged, "Yeah, that's why I'm cooking. Anyway, I did my part over there, but Vaike could probably use some help with that firewood."

"Uh, okay." Sully responded, still unsure of how to respond. She left to go give Vaike a hand, wondering if John's cooking was any good.

* * *

Elsewhere James and Virion were playing something of a game.

"And I win." James declared as he moved his last piece into place.

"Bravo." Virion congratulated as he took a sip of his tea.

"Yeah, but it cost half my troops and most of my Riders." the tactician noted, while Virion's pieces were few and far between, earning a victory by their rules; James's were doing little better, the only real difference being that his were all in one place. "I mean I know you're using unrealistic tactics to help improve my skills, but there's still one scenario we haven't covered that I'm worried about." he ran his fingers through his hair.

"And what is that?" Virion asked, his tone conveying mild curiosity.

"The scenario of enemy Kamen Riders." James said bluntly.

Virion froze, his tea cup barely kept from spilling. "W-What did you say!?" his normal calm persona fractured.

"Oh come on, it far from impossible. If I understand everything right, there should still be at least four more belts out there." lifted up his own Gamer Driver.

"B-but just the other day, Yume told me that we had already found all the Riders!?" He continued to stammer at the thought of having to fight a Rider outside of Daiki's relatively friendly bouts with James.

James took a sip of his own tea, "Well, either she was being optimistic, or she was just counting the four of us who were in that room at the time, and on top of that, just because we're the only Riders that currently exist, doesn't mean that viable candidates won't appear in the future." He set his tea down and started to reset the board. "That's why we have to be ready, in case that ever happens."

"Y-Yes, I see, well for now we'll treat my rider pieces as identical to yours until such a time when we have reason to do otherwise." Virion responded nervously before helping to set up the board once again.

* * *

Daiki smirked as he looked to Frederick, who had called him to training yard, "I presume you want to test my capabilities without transforming?" he questioned as he reached for a curved practice sword.

"That is correct," Frederick responded as he readyed his stance.

"All right, let's begin." Daiki declared before dashing at Frederick.

* * *

Later that day, the riders gathered around a single table for dinner which they were all extremely excited for, John was one of the best cooks any of them had met after all. Once they were all seated, Yume, whose day had been rather boring, was the first to speak up. "So, little brother, where'd you get Gekitotsu Robots?" she asked.

Daiki let out a small sigh, "Ok, I was planning on telling this story anyway; besides I'm gonna have to tell Chrom too anyhow. It all happened about a week and a half ago, y'know right before the tournament…

* * *

Daiki, Khan Basillio, and Lon'qu trekked through the snow showing no signs of slowing despite the harsh winds, they had to find him. They had heard tell of a strange man whose skin was tougher than iron, whose fists were greater than a war hammer, and whose heart was but a black void.

Ordinarily such reports would have been dismissed as baseless rumor, had it not been for the empty, burning ruins and the resulting search parties often returning smaller then when they left. Thus, the Khan decided to take his champions and resolve the matter himself.

After hours of walking, Lon'qu stopped, signaling to the others that he had found something. He pointed out a man in a red cloak who seemed unaffected by the cold weather. Even Basilio and Lon'qu were covered in ice and snow but not the red cloaked man, in fact the snow seemed to evaporate before it even touched him. Before Basilio could even call out to him, a bolt of light shot out from behind him and struck the cloaked man. Basilio turned back to see that Daiki had fired his tire blaster without transforming. Basilio was about berate his subordinate for attacking a potential innocent until he pointed back to the cloaked man, who was uninjured.

* * *

Daiki ignored whatever Basilio and maybe Lon'qu said as he marched towards the thing in the red cloak.

 **Bakusou Bike**

"Henshin"

 _ **Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!**_

" _ **I'm a Kamen Rider!"**_

Once his transformation was complete, Lazer charged the cloaked figure. The figure attempted to sweep Lazer to the side and nearly did so, however Lazer grabbed on the figure's cloak and pulled them to the ground. He climbed on top of his opponent and tried to throw a punch; before his blow could connect however, the cloaked being grabbed Lazer's arm and held it in place. A golden light started to shine from within the cloak, which then intensified into a golden explosion, throwing Lazer back.

One the light faded, the cloaked being's true form was exposed. It was tall, red, monster made of metal with a massive claw-like arm. "The Gekitotsu Bugster, Gatton." Lazer recognized as he readied himself to attack.

Lazer started to spin like a top and glided over the snow to ram Gatton; the attack connected, though the Bugster didn't so much as flinch.

Before Lazer could try anything else, Gatton grabbed him with his claw arm; it was hard to tell in his current form but Lazer was certain that the claw was crushing his throat. Lazer's short arms flailed uselessly as he tried to get loose. "Target identified: Kamen Rider. Level: 1. Threat: negligible." Gatton surmised as it tightened its grip.

"I got your back!" A thunderous voice called out shortly before Lazer found himself lying on the ground with Gatton's now severed arm. He managed to pull himself up enough to see Khan Basilio with his killer axe looking very proud of himself.

As Lazer rose to his feet, he noted Lon'qu readying his killing edge. Lazer shot at one the trophies formed by his game area.

 **Ekijō-ka!**

Lazer's body melted into a yellow, jello-like liquid. The fluid flew through the air and into Gatton's arm stub. Lazer then promptly expanded outward, piercing through Gatton's body in several places. "How well will you die!?" Lon'qu taunted as his cleaved Gatton down the middle, leaving Lazer unharmed.

Lazer left the Bugster's body and re-solidified; he didn't bother to turn around as electricity shot out from the many damaged areas of Gatton's body before the Bugster was destroyed by a massive explosion.

* * *

"So, after that we found the gashat in the snow where Gatton had been and went home to prepare for the tournament. That's when Lord Basilio decided to have it as an extra prize. Anyway, I've got to go tell Chrom so bye." Daiki finished before leaving, the other riders to flabbergasted and concerned about the confirmation of Bugsters to notice that Daiki had taken most of their food.

* * *

 **So there you have it, the first proper side quest chapter completed. I'll be honest, I don't really like how this one turned out so I'm going to keep refining how these chapters work. And yes, we have our first confirmed bugster in the story, granted it doesn't last very long but really against Basilio and Lon'qu, with help from Lazer? It never stood a chance. Either way I'm sorry that I've been quiet for so long, but I had been dedicating time to Phantom Joker before that went on hiatus, plus I'm still working on getting a new project ready to show. Either way, this Time-Space Lord Eon saying** _ **see you next game.**_


End file.
